When contesting a trust in California, there’s more than financial capital at stake; there’s emotional capital on the line, too. Because of this, you must understand the likelihood of winning a trust contest to ensure that you emerge from court with a return on the emotional and financial investment litigation demands.
At Gokal Law Group, we have decades of experience helping clients determine their chances of successfully disputing trusts. Your success rests on the shoulders of your trust litigation attorney, so you should settle for nothing but the best. Learn how to determine your chances of a successful contest by reading on.
How Hard is Contesting a Trust in California?
Before pursuing litigation, it is essential first to determine if you are in a position to succeed because trust litigation can be a long, expensive, and emotionally taxing process. Ultimately, the only person who can evaluate your case and determine if the odds are stacked in your favor is a premier trust litigation lawyer. Here’s how to determine your chances of success.
When to Contest a Trust
Several situations can be grounds for contesting a trust in California, but if you don’t have a solid foundation to build a case, your chances of success will be low.
With so many different situations in which you can successfully contest a trust, this is not always an easy determination to make. Making this decision requires an extensive understanding of precedents and the Probate Code.
“Truth drives every trust litigation. Did the the trust creator lack the capacity to create or amend the trust? Did someone manipulate or coerce them? Or maybe the trustee mismanaged assets, committed fraud, stole from the trust, or failed to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. All of these circumstances, and more, are grounds for litigation. You need experienced counsel to help you navigate to find the truth,” explained Alison Gokal, managing partner at Gokal Law Group with almost two decades of complex litigation experience fighting for clients.
Your relationship to the trust and trust terms will also be significant factors. Even something like ambiguity in the trust language may be sufficient grounds to contest it.
Admissible Evidence
Another crucial factor that determines how successful you will be when contesting a trust in California is the evidence.
You must prove your case in a court of law, which requires compiling convincing and legally admissible evidence. Determining if your evidence satisfies the California Evidence Code requires the expertise of a seasoned trust litigation attorney.
“This is harder than it sounds. We often deal with claims of undue influence. These situations happen more often than one would think. It takes time and skill to collect key circumstantial evidence, medical testimony, and communications to prove up the claims and successfully protect beneficiaries,” Alison added.
Chances of Successfully Contesting a Trust in California
Generally, there is less than a 33% success rate when people decide to contest a trust in California. When faced with this statistic, it’s easy to feel like the odds are stacked against you – but this doesn’t tell the whole story.
You can determine your chances of successfully contesting a trust in California by assessing the nuances of your situation and the evidence available to position yourself for success. Just as importantly, successful litigation hinges on experience and preparation.
When a statistic says that less than one-third of contests succeed at trial, this signals they did not work with a transparent trust litigation lawyer who went to bat for them and guided them through the process. Fortunately, with us, this is never a concern.
Premier Representation in Contesting a Trust in California
If you are considering pursuing a trust contest, honestly evaluate your situation. Do you have solid legal standing for a contest, and do you have enough evidence that would be admissible in a court of law? If so, then with the help of a premier trust litigation attorney, you have a good chance at successfully contesting a trust in California.
Fortunately, at Gokal Law Group, our firm boasts expertise and experience in successfully bringing the truth to light. To ensure the odds are stacked in your favor, call us at (949) 753-9100 or contact us to request a case evaluation.
When contesting a trust in California, there is typically less than a 33% success rate. This static can make you feel like the odds are stacked against you however assessing the nuances of your situation and the evidence available can help you determine your chances of winning a trust contest.
At Gokal Law Group, we have decades of experience helping clients determine their chances of successfully disputing trusts. Your success rests on the shoulders of your trust litigation attorney, so you should settle for nothing but the best. Learn how to determine your chances of a successful contest by reading on.
How Hard is Contesting a Trust in California?
Before pursuing litigation, it is essential first to determine if you are in a position to succeed because trust litigation can be a long, expensive, and emotionally taxing process. Ultimately, the only person who can evaluate your case and determine if the odds are stacked in your favor is a premier trust litigation lawyer. Here’s how to determine your chances of success.
When to Contest a Trust
Several situations can be grounds for contesting a trust in California, but if you don’t have a solid foundation to build a case, your chances of success will be low. Your relationship to the trust and trust terms will also be significant factors. Even something like ambiguity in the trust language may be sufficient grounds to contest it.
With so many different situations in which you can successfully contest a trust, this is not always an easy determination to make. Making this decision requires an extensive understanding of precedents and the Probate Code.
“Truth drives every trust litigation. Did the the trust creator lack the capacity to create or amend the trust? Did someone manipulate or coerce them? Or maybe the trustee mismanaged assets, committed fraud, stole from the trust, or failed to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. All of these circumstances, and more, are grounds for litigation. You need experienced counsel to help you navigate to find the truth,” explained
Alison Gokal, managing partner at Gokal Law Group with almost two decades of complex litigation experience fighting for clients.
Admissible Evidence
You must prove your case in a court of law, which requires compiling convincing and legally admissible evidence. Determining if your evidence satisfies the California Evidence Code requires the expertise of a seasoned trust litigation attorney.
Evidence will always be one of the most crucial factors that will determine how successful you will be when contesting a trust in California.
“This is harder than it sounds. We often deal with claims of undue influence. These situations happen more often than one would think. It takes time and skill to collect key circumstantial evidence, medical testimony, and communications to prove up the claims and successfully protect beneficiaries,”
Alison Gokal, managing partner at Gokal Law Group with almost two decades of complex litigation experience fighting for clients.
Chances of Successfully Contesting a Trust in California
Generally, there is less than a 33% success rate when people decide to contest a trust in California. When faced with this statistic, it’s easy to feel like the odds are stacked against you – but this doesn’t tell the whole story.
You can determine your chances of successfully contesting a trust in California by assessing the nuances of your situation and the evidence available to position yourself for success. Just as importantly, successful litigation hinges on experience and preparation.
When a statistic says that less than one-third of contests succeed at trial, this signals they did not work with a transparent trust litigation lawyer who went to bat for them and guided them through the process. Fortunately, with us, this is never a concern.
Premier Representation in Contesting a Trust in California
If you are considering pursuing a trust contest, honestly evaluate your situation. Do you have solid legal standing for a contest, and do you have enough evidence that would be admissible in a court of law? If so, then with the help of a premier trust litigation attorney, you have a good chance at successfully contesting a trust in California.
7 Responses
If one beneficiary has been paid out or bought out from the irrevocable trust, but another beneficiary has not is the trust closed to that one beneficiary that’s been paid off and open to the one that has not been paid off?
Can you please answer the question no referral needed. Thank you.
Hello, I really don’t know where to start but I will start here….. My sister tricked my Mother into letting her become the sole trustee. When my Mother found out about it she was furious and was highly upset with my sister. My Mother is 94 years old and has had dementia for years now and is still alive but not to happy about not being in control of her own trust. My sister put a hold on a sale of a property my Mother owns by not giving her a copy of the trust so we could give it to the title company, and this went on for months until I hired an attorney and he was able to get a copy of the trust. We now know why my sister did not want to give a copy of the trust to my Mother. It was because my sister didn’t want ANYONE to find out that she had changed what my Mother had originally wanted in the will/trust document and now it benefits my sister to basically do what she wants and treat my brother and myself any way she wants. Yes there are witnesses that are willing to testify that for many years all they heard from my Mother’s mouth is she wants EVERYTHING to be divided 3 ways equally between her 3 children and no one getting more than than another.
I have other issues but I will give you one more. My sister (Trustee) physically attacked my daughter (Beneficiary) and caused serious damage to her face that was so severe that the doctors that treated her suggested she gets plastic surgery. We called the police, pictures were taken and now my daughter has recurring nightmares of the incident. There were 2 witnesses to this vicious unwanted attack. Is ANY of this grounds for trustee removal? How much more evidence do I need because I have more.
Breach of fiduciary duties. I have all the bank statements showing my sister stealing my Mother’s money by using the ATM machines. My Mother has never ever used an ATM machine in her life. My sister has had a gambling problem for over 25 years that many people will verify to. Some of my sisters stealing also occurred in gambling establishments which I have the statements to also prove. Anything I say, I can prove in a court of law. I am also willing to sign a contract giving up my rights as a beneficiary to any money I have coming to me. This is how important it is to me to have a lawyer expose everything my sister has done to this family! She must be stopped and I won’t rest until she is.
People like her should not be allowed to co exist or mingle with us common folk, to much drama.
I know I was verbose but I wanted you to really feel what I was saying. We need help in a bad way. Thanks for listening.
Myrick Guillory
Disinherited surviving spouse is interested in contest trust. Compelling evidence of capacity and fraud of trustee, would like to schedule consultation.
Mom and stepdad made up a trust 25 years ago to include their house (the home her kids grew up in) and a property they bought together. At the time the only information given to her children was all assets would be divided (60/40) between her three adult children (20% each) and 40% to his one adult son.
There is a letter (signed by both) to her children at the time of the trust formation that states “after they both die the properties and all assets will be divided“ ( 20, 20, 20 % to hers and 40% to his) at the time her children pushed back at the inequity of the division not being 25% per adult child regardless of parentage. After pushing back her kids agreed to back off as long as their childhood home was left to them, with the understanding that the other property would go to his son.
The other property is worth several millions. Over the past 5 years a multimillion dollar mansion has been built by the stepfathers son on the property mom and stepfather allegedly own. This property’s ownership has already likely been transferred to his son or to stepfather only.
Fast forward 20 years. Mom has advancing dementia and her children are getting clues that all the assets from the trust have been changed without mom’s consent (due to dementia). She claims nothing has changed but property records show the property has been transferred. She has been confused about these matters for several years.
Questions to her and the stepfather are not followed up with as promised or ignored completely.
Now the situation is much worse. It looks like the stepfather has changed the trust and leveraged ALL assets to be left to his son including the home bought in 1960’s where her family was raised. She married stepfather in 1990’s. He did not own any property at the time.
She received a large inheritance in late 1990’s that was used along with equity in her home to buy property bought together. At this time her home was put into both their names along with a legal name change to his last name. This is also when their trust was created.
This situation is happening in a small Southern California beach town where property values have skyrocketed. These properties are worth many millions of dollars.
To be clear her children would be satisfied if the properties were divided such that the three siblings split the (modest) home (worth 1.5 million)*they grew up in and the stepfathers son inherited the ocean view mansion worth ( 7-10 million)*. Per Zillow.
With other assets divided: 20, 20, 20% per sibling and 40% to his son, as was agreed to in the trust formation stipulated in the letter 20 years ago.
Both mother and stepfather are in their 80s and both have significant health issues. Her body is healthy but she has dementia. He has heart condition and isn’t in great health.
Advice for her adult children please!
Sent from my iPhone
How to protect the trust ‘ s creator , and their successor ‘ trustee from a contest…?
whether or not the laws requiring the trustees giving copy of the the trust to their beneficiaries
A great case for the right attorney.. Very ill man incapable of of making or signing
A trust agreement..
My mother passed away June 19, 2024. There wasn’t an original trust/well done in May 2012 it was amended December 5, 2022 giving my sister who took her to amend this. Trust her house my siblings and I, there are a total of three of us would like to contest this trust our mother suffered from a stroke, continual constant UTIs the last time she was in the hospital we were told she needed a pacemaker. The cardiologist involved told my sister, Valerie Scott, who amended the trust that a Pacemaker would not work for her because of her continual UTIs. She was then put on hospice and died about 10 days later.