Estate Planning
Trust & Estate Administration
Trust & Estate Litigation

At Van De Poel, Levy, Thomas LLP, our team advocates for proactive estate planning to avoid risk of defaulting to the state’s predetermined guidelines outlined in the Probate Code, which can be potentially costly. We understand that estate planning extends beyond simple generation of documents of assets and are committed to providing our expertise through every step of the estate planning process.

Our attorneys represent beneficiaries and fiduciaries in all aspects of trust and estate litigation, including trust and will contests, actions involving recovery of property related to a trust or estate, financial elder abuse actions, fiduciary litigation, contested conservatorships, and heirship proceedings. Our team is particularly skilled at working through difficult family dynamics to settle disputes before they get out of hand.

Estate Planning

Effective estate planning involves diligently crafting guidelines to encompass the who, what, where, when and how assets are distributed when the inevitable events of life take place. Our attorneys ensure our clients have a thought-out, well-crafted estate plan, that will give those that matter directions tailored to our client’s wishes at a fraction of the cost of probate.

Our planning services includes:

Trusts
Wills
Power of Attorney
Advanced Healthcare Directives

Trust & Estate Administration

Our administration services includes:

Probate Administration
Trust Administration

Trust & Estate Litigation

Trust and estate litigation is often highly complex, with several parties and subjective interpretations of applicable law involved.

Our trust and estate litigation team handle a variety of disputes including:

Contests over the validity or interpretation of trusts, wills and other testamentary documents in part or in full
Challenges to heirship or disinheritance
Disputes over the capacity of the testator or claims that the testator was a victim of fraud, coercion, undue influence or elder abuse
Disputes between family members over who should act as the fiduciary
Claims against trustees and other fiduciaries for misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty, removal and surcharge
Disputes concerning the characterization and distribution of trust and estate property; controversies over fiduciary accountings