Overview
Disputes involving trusts, estates and fiduciary duty can create tensions within families and organizations alike. Drawing on the decades of experience of our nationally recognized practice, we understand these complex and often emotionally charged situations and provide a full scope of dispute resolution services to protect and defend our clients’ interests—and legacies.
Our preeminent team of private wealth and fiduciary disputes professionals represent individual and corporate fiduciaries, charities, individuals, heirs, beneficiaries, trustees and third-party claimants in a wide variety of trust and estate litigation matters in probate and civil courts, from case initiation through appeal. The depth and variety of our experience in these matters allow our attorneys to recognize circumstances in which expensive and time-consuming litigation can be avoided and more efficient alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration and mediation, can be employed successfully.
We are keenly focused on achieving the best outcome for clients—in and out of the courtroom. Our estate planning team guides clients, beneficiaries and trustees in analyzing options and making informed decisions regarding trust and estate planning and administration to help avoid future disputes and prevent litigation, if at all possible.
Protecting not-for-profit corporations and charitable trusts
Additionally, our team defends not-for-profit corporations and charitable trusts against challenges to their decision-making under state charitable trust law and federal and state tax law and has successfully resolved disputes over investment decisions, the use of charitable assets (including restricted funds), the application of the cy pres doctrine and the modification of trusts. Often these matters involve the fiduciary responsibilities of officers, directors and trustees of charitable organizations, and we vigorously defend them in professional liability disputes.
Manatt attorneys also assist clients with controversies shaped by the complex restrictions of tax-exempt status. We offer comprehensive assistance in disputes with the IRS and state tax agencies over tax-exempt status and other tax liability matters and regularly represent our charitable clients in will contests and other disputes regarding charitable bequests.
What we do
Our team handles disputes involving:
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Fiduciary misconduct and fraud
- Estate administration
- Investment mismanagement
- Trustee removals and abuse of discretion matters
- Accounting disputes
- Will and trust contests
