Trust & Estate Litigation for Nonprofits

Protect your gift from estate challenges.

Protect The Gift Your Nonprofit Has Received


Your nonprofit has the same rights that any family member would. The gift you are entitled to also can be impacted by any estate dispute, including those not directly challenging your gift. Our estate attorneys enforce your rights through litigation, if necessary.

Harry Wallace of Gokal Law explaining trust litigation for nonprofits

Assert Your Rights


Get involved in the process as soon as you’re notified that you’re a beneficiary.

Fill out the form below to get started.

To protect your gift, your nonprofit needs to make clear that your organization stands firm in its right to receive the share granted to you.

As a beneficiary, you have the right to:

Receive an accounting of the estate: how much money there is, what the debts are, etc.
Know how the estate funds are being invested or secured
Impartial decision-making by the trustee when they’re distributing the estate assets
Receive a fair and timely distribution of your share
Challenge trustee negligence, misappropriation, or fraud
Enter mediation to resolve estate disputes

Hiring legal counsel to guide you through the legal process is always best.

How We Support Nonprofit Organizations


Gokal Law Group can help you protect the gift that’s so crucial for your organization.
Our experienced legal team can assist you in four ways:

Step One

Strategy

We’ll assess the situation and determine the best strategy for protecting your share. Our team will analyze the nature of the dispute and gain a thorough understanding of what the estate assets are and how they’re being administered.

Step Two

Discovery

We will work to uncover the donor’s intent in leaving you a gift and identify untruthful or misleading claims that threaten your share. We’ll do investigative work to establish the facts, which may include financial forensics or document collection.

Step Three

Mediation & Settlememt

When there’s mediation, we’ll make sure that your organization has a voice at the table and agreements won’t be made without your knowledge and consent. Nonprofits can lose their share when they don’t participate in mediation.

Step Four

Trial

If necessary, we’ll use the evidence collected during discovery to fight for you in court. Our entire team will collaborate to create a thorough and aggressive legal strategy.

We Advocate for the Nonprofit Community


At Gokal Law, we have a culture within our firm to give back. We recognize that we’ve been blessed, and we owe it to the community at large to pay our good blessings forward.

“By representing the non-profit and making sure they receive their gift, we’re honoring the intent of the donor and also helping the non-profit carry out their mission.

– Abbas K. Gokal, Founding Partner, Gokal Law Group

Our partners and associates are involved as board members and active donors for a variety of nonprofit organizations and charities. Through our representation in trust litigation, we can further empower these nonprofits to continue serving and strengthening their communities.

Our Partners and Associates at Gokal Law have served as volunteers and board members of numerous organizations, including:

“The trustee had a strong connection with the nonprofit. We had to prove not only that such a relationship existed, but that it was the trustee’s main incentive for leaving the gift. Through financial forensics and other discovery work, we were able to verify those facts and shield the gift from downright false claims.

– Abbas K. Gokal, Founding Partner, Gokal Law Group

Case Study


The Prentice School: Defending a Gift for Special Needs Education

This client was a private school that serves children with special needs, particularly students with dyslexia.

The Decedent
A member of the community developed a strong connection with the school. He suffered from dyslexia as a child, and was happy to learn there was a school that helps children overcome the same challenges he had faced. He decided to make a large bequest to the school upon his passing.

The Problem
The decedent’s children claimed that he did not have the mental capacity to make such a gift. The children launched a trust dispute.

Our Work
We presented our findings to the children’s attorneys, who quickly realized their mental capacity claim would not prevail. We quickly resolved the case with a favorable outcome for the Prentice School.

Frequently Asked Questions

Gokal Law Group offers a free consultation with one of our attorneys to determine if nonprofit trust litigation makes sense for you. After reviewing your case and discussing your financial circumstances, we will advise you on next steps to achieve the best possible outcome for your situation.

Nonprofit trust litigation refers to situations in which a nonprofit organization has been made the beneficiary of an estate and is due to receive a bequeathment or endowment; however, there are other parties who dispute the trust and spur legal proceedings. In some cases, these disputes are solved in mediation between the beneficiaries, but sometimes they go before a court.

If you don’t work with a lawyer who specializes in nonprofit trust litigation, you may risk losing some or all of the bequeathment that’s been left for you. Furthermore, trust administration may be a complicated process, especially when estate disputes erupt, and without experienced legal representatives you may be at a serious disadvantage in court proceedings.

Gokal Law Group offers a free consultation with one of our attorneys to determine if nonprofit trust litigation makes sense for you. After reviewing your case and discussing your financial circumstances, we will advise you on next steps to achieve the best possible outcome for your situation.

Learn More About Trust Litigation

Speak with Our Team To Protect Your Nonprofit’s Gift


Tell us about your situation and we can set up a consultation to review your case and legal options.