Trust & Estates Litigation
Wade, Grunberg & Wilson is one of the few firms in the Southeast with a focus on trusts and estates litigation. This area of litigation demands knowledge of probate court rules and procedures, as well as general civil procedures. Our lawyers have a lengthy track record of representing clients in a wide range of fiduciary litigation, and we are well-versed in the particularized nature of litigating over trusts and estates.
When you are involved in a dispute involving family and money, you need a lawyer who has the necessary knowledge and experience – but you also need a lawyer who understands the unique nature of family disputes. Because of this personal dimension, trusts and estates litigation is among the most difficult, requiring creative solutions to resolve longstanding feuds.
At Wade, Grunberg & Wilson, we will help you work through options and towards your goal – whether that is winning a lawsuit or repairing broken family relationships. We frequently help our clients resolve disputes over trusts and wills prior to litigation, either through mediation or pre-litigation negotiations. An early resolution allows you to craft a solution that works best for you and your family before taking the potentially inflammatory – and expensive – step of filing a lawsuit.
If litigation is unavoidable, however, we will fight for you to achieve your goals. Wade, Grunberg & Wilson lawyers have represented individual beneficiaries, individual fiduciaries, corporate fiduciaries, charitable beneficiaries, grantors, trustees, executors, conservators, and personal representatives on both the plaintiff and defense side. Our clients have been involved in disputes involving breach of fiduciary duty, theft of assets, fraud, undue influence, incompetence, trust construction, will construction, application of the slayer statute, and removal of trustees and personal representatives.
We also have significant experience working with clients faced with disputes over trusts and other estate planning techniques in the context of a divorce. The treatment of trust assets during a divorce can be a crucial component in the division of marital assets or the determination of appropriate alimony. Our lawyers can work with your divorce lawyer to analyze and, if necessary, litigate the issue of whether trust assets are marital assets and whether a trustee should be joined as a party in your divorce litigation.