Estate Planning & Trust Administration

Estate Planning

Estate planning protects you, your loved ones, and the assets earned over a lifetime of hard work. Our typical estate plans include a trust, pour-over will, advance health care directive, and durable power of attorney, along with related documents that strengthen the plan’s efficiency. We draft new plans and amend or modify existing ones.

Probate & Trust Administration

Probate is the court-supervised process of gathering a loved one’s estate, resolving creditor claims, and distributing assets when there was no sufficient estate plan in place. It can be complicated and time-consuming — creditor claims, will contests, undue-influence petitions, and beneficiary disagreements can all delay closure.

Trust administration accomplishes the same transfer when a valid estate plan exists. It is generally not court-supervised, typically costs a fraction of probate, and finishes sooner. If you have lost a loved one and are unsure whether they had a sufficient estate plan, contact us — we can help determine whether formal probate is necessary.

Trust Litigation

Common trust disputes involve trustees who fail to follow the trust’s terms, misappropriate assets, or breach fiduciary duties — and, just as often, diligent trustees wrongly accused by beneficiaries. We represent both sides: defending trustees’ administration and helping beneficiaries obtain relief when assets have been taken or terms ignored.

Conservatorship

A conservatorship is a formal court proceeding in which a responsible person or organization (the conservator) is appointed to care for an adult who cannot care for themselves or manage their finances (the conservatee). We assist families with obtaining or opposing a conservatorship, managing an ongoing one efficiently, and resolving or terminating one when circumstances change.