Probate Law

Probate and Trust & Estate disputes frequently benefit from a collaborative and interest-based approach to resolving disputes. The parties generally know one another and are often members of the same family, so preserving and building upon those ongoing relationships is important.  In mediation, collaborative law and other non-adversarial processes, the parties and their lawyers are freed from the need to engage in litigation posturing, and can devote their full attention to finding a solution that achieves the interests of the parties and protects their rights, while respecting the wishes of the deceased.    

The primary goal of both wills and trust is to maintain control over both who administers the estate and what happens to one's assets, as well as to minimize the need for court intervention. Trusts are used to avoid the expense, delay and publicity of probate. Anyone who engages in proactive estate planning is likely to want to utilize collaborative law, mediation and case evaluation to avoid the loss of control, expense, delay and publicity inherent in litigation, as it relates to the following areas of probate law, elder law and wills & estate practice:

• Will and estate contests
• General probate administration issues
• Trust and estate administration matters
• Guardianships
• Conservatorships
• Sibling disputes
• Reformation of estate planning documents
• Elder law/Medicaid law
• Elder care long-term care planning issues