What are some of the reasons for trust litigation?

gavel book

Many California residents would agree that an estate plan is only as good as its documents. How those documents are drafted and executed can sometimes spark trust litigation. Of the reasons why a beneficiary may initiate litigation in reference to a trust, some basic ones exist.

After reviewing a trust, a beneficiary may suspect or discover that something is not right. One of the most obvious issues with a trust could be that it was not properly executed. Perhaps no one witnessed it, there were not enough witnesses or someone falsified the witness signatures. However, more often a beneficiary questions the provisions of the will based on other factors.

For instance, did the trust creator have the capacity to sign it? If his or her mental capacity is questioned, it could invalidate the trust. Another issue that might bring a trust into question is undue influence. If a beneficiary believes that someone else, perhaps another beneficiary, exerted some sort of influence over the trust creator that led to a change in trust provisions, it could also lead to litigation.

The trust creator may also have been manipulated into signing through fraud. In other cases, the language of the trust may not be clear. It could lead to disputes among the beneficiaries who have different interpretations of the trust’s provisions.

Regardless of the reason, if a beneficiary wants to contest a trust, trust litigation may be required. Cases involving inadequately executed documents may not require as much evidence as those involving lack of capacity, undue influence or fraud. Just as would be the case in cases involving ambiguous provisions, it would be up to a California court to determine whether the evidence provided is enough to prove a claim.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *