Something is wrong. A sibling has the money and will not account for it, a caregiver appeared in the last year and the trust changed, or a trustee simply stopped answering the phone.
There are real remedies for all of that. There is also a deadline that is shorter than most people realize, and a cost structure that makes some good claims not worth bringing.
The deadline comes first
Once a trustee serves the statutory notice after a death, anyone wanting to contest the trust generally has 120 days from that notice. Not from the death, and not from when you found out something was wrong.
If you have received a letter with the word notice in it and a copy of a trust, put the date on your calendar and get advice this week rather than next month.
Disputes are billed hourly here
Planning is a flat fee. Litigation is not, and any firm telling you otherwise at the outset is either guessing or is about to change the arrangement. We bill hourly on disputes, against a retainer, and we say what a realistic range looks like before you engage.
What people actually bring
- Undue influence, usually where a caregiver or one child benefited from a late change
- Lack of capacity at the time a document was signed
- Removing a trustee for self-dealing or refusal to account
- Breach of fiduciary duty, including investments and unpaid distributions
- Recovering property that was moved out of an estate before or after a death
- Compelling an accounting from a trustee who has gone quiet
The uncomfortable arithmetic
A contested trust matter can run into six figures and take two years. If the disputed share is $180,000, you have to think seriously about whether the fight is worth it, and about whether the other side has anything left to recover by the time you win.
I would rather tell you that at the first meeting than at the second invoice.
“The best outcome in most of these is a mediated settlement in month four. Nobody feels vindicated. Everybody keeps more money than they would have. I count those as wins even when clients do not.”
Delia Vasquez-HartQuestions we get asked
Will a no-contest clause disinherit me if I lose?
It might, but they are narrower than people fear. California limits their reach, and a direct contest brought with probable cause is treated differently from a frivolous one.
Do I have standing?
Generally you need to be a beneficiary, an heir, or someone who would benefit if the challenged instrument fell. That is the first question we answer.
What proves undue influence?
Rarely a confession. Usually the pattern: isolation, a sudden change, dependency, and someone in a position of trust who ended up with the asset.
How fast can we stop a sale?
There are emergency options where property is about to move. Those are days, not weeks, so call rather than email if that is the situation.
Start here
Gather the notice letter, the trust and any amendments, and a rough timeline of who was around in the final two years. That is enough for a first assessment.