When a family member dies and the estate plan does not add up — a last-minute will, a caregiver suddenly named trustee, an executor who will not account for the money — the law provides ways to get answers and, where warranted, to undo the wrong. I bring a business litigator's toolkit to these disputes, where the core claims are often the same fiduciary duty and fraud theories I have litigated for over fifteen years.
Matters I handle
- Will contests — challenges based on lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution, litigated in Illinois probate court within the strict six-month window after a will is admitted.
- Trust disputes — contests of trusts and amendments, construction and reformation actions, and claims under the Illinois Trust Code.
- Undue influence and financial exploitation — transfers, beneficiary changes, and "gifts" procured from elderly or dependent adults, including presumptions that arise when a fiduciary benefits from a transaction they helped arrange.
- Breach of fiduciary duty by executors, administrators, and trustees — self-dealing, mismanagement, failures to distribute or inform, and refusal to account; removal and surcharge proceedings.
- Accountings and citation proceedings — statutory tools to discover and recover estate assets that were diverted before or after death.
- Contested guardianships and disputes over the person and property of adults who can no longer manage their own affairs.
Why a litigator, specifically
Many fine estate-planning lawyers rarely see the inside of a courtroom. Estate and trust disputes, though, are litigation through and through: discovery fights over medical and financial records, depositions of drafting attorneys and caregivers, valuation battles, expert testimony on capacity. These cases also frequently intersect with my core practice — a family business inside a trust, a fiduciary who is also a co-shareholder — and I can litigate both dimensions in one coherent strategy.
Defense as well
Executors and trustees get sued too, sometimes by beneficiaries with unrealistic expectations of what an estate could earn or distribute. If you serve as a fiduciary and have been accused of mishandling your role, early advice about accountings, communications, and insurance can contain the dispute before it consumes the estate.
Deadlines are unforgiving here
Estate litigation is governed by short, hard deadlines — most notably the six-month period to contest an admitted will. If something about a loved one's estate seems wrong, have it evaluated promptly, even if you are not yet sure you want to litigate.