Divorce Fees: When Your Spouse Might Have to Pay
How Much Will My Divorce Cost?
The Chartwell Chronicles: New Jersey Attorney Fees
Policyholders vs. Insurers: 3 Arguments to Make When Selecting Defense Counsel & Hourly Rates
Hinshaw Insurance Law TV: Recent Changes in Florida Property Insurance Law and How They Will Affect First Party Insurance
How to Secure Advances to Fund Legal Fees
Legislative Update: Cannabis, COVID-19, COMAR and More
Let's Talk About How Much It Costs To Get Divorced
Employment Law and Attorney Fees from the Employee Perspective | Jason Smith | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Let's Talk Retaining a Family Law Lawyer
The Dangers of Untimely Filings – What Employers Need to Know
THE PAPER CHASE
VIDEO: Are PA Workers Compensation Attorney Fees Now Taken from Medical Benefits Too?
What Should I Do If My Employer Failed to Pay Me Wages?
6 Key Takeaways | Ethics Developments in California
Meritas Capability Webinar - Controlling Where to Fight and Who Pays for it?
Who pays attorney fees in a divorce proceeding?
SEC Whistleblower Program: What Employers Need to Know
The Restatement (Third) of Trusts, specifically §104, lists four general areas in which the beneficiary’s actions may lead to an assumption of internal liability to the trust estate: (1) A loan or advance to the beneficiary...more
In California, trustees have a fiduciary duty to act impartially and in the interest of all beneficiaries. But what happens when a trustee uses trust funds to finance litigation that benefits only certain beneficiaries—or...more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals of Virginia upheld a lower court’s ruling that Kositzka, Wicks and Company (KWC) breached its fiduciary duty to Edward Joseph Ryan, awarding his estate $999,050 in damages, attorney...more
Equity’s maxims have many jurisprudential functions, one critical function being to sinew the equitable principles that regulate the law of trusts. A court that is saddled with sorting out the rights, duties and obligations...more
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued an interesting ruling regarding the ability of a litigant in probate litigation to recover attorney fees from the trust in dispute, even if all parties agree to such payment. In...more
David F. Johnson presented his paper titled “Trustee’s Ability To Retain And Compensate Attorneys In Texas” to the Texas State Bar’s 48th Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course on June 13, 2024, in Houston, Texas....more
In Mendell v. Scott, a decedent had a trust that named him as primary beneficiary, and upon his death, the trust would continue for a niece provided that she did not commit a prohibited act. No. 01-20-00578-CV, 2023 Tex. App....more
Litigation is often expensive. When a client considers filing a lawsuit or must decide how to handle a lawsuit someone else started, one of the most fundamental questions to ask is: Who pays the lawyers? Under the American...more
This update will address the following issues: whether a party has a right to jury trial in trust modification and other similar actions, what are the standards for pretrial receivership and injunctive relief in trust...more
As demonstrated in our Gold Medal Bakery case, with corporate fiduciary claims, there can be thought-provoking challenges and issues presented by the question of whether a claim is direct or derivative. Probate and trust...more
In Wells Fargo, N.A. v. Clower, a trustee filed suit for declaratory relief regarding its discretion to make income distributions. No. 02-20-00058-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7675 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth September 16, 2021, no...more
In an opinion released last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a petition to modify the terms of a trust to allow for the early distribution of trust assets to the beneficiaries. The court also denied the...more
House Bill 625 (2021), sponsored by Representative Clay Yarborough, R–Jacksonville, amends Sections 733.6167 and 736.1007 of the Florida Statutes to provide that if an attorney intends to charge a fee for an estate or initial...more
Many family member trustees are uncertain about whether and to what extent they can use trust assets to obtain legal representation. For example, when two parents choose their daughter, upon their incapacity or death, to...more
Individual trustees often fail to fulfill the duties imposed on trustees, not only by the trust instrument, by also by the trust statutes applicable in the jurisdiction. It is often the case that the individual trustee is a...more
Areas of Discussion: - In this Presentation, we will discuss the following: - Duty of loyalty; - Authority for trustee compensation; - Factors for reasonable compensation; - Other issues arising from trustee...more
American courts (including our California state courts), in contrast to courts in England, do not typically award attorneys’ fees to a lawsuit’s “victor.” There are, of course, exceptions to this so-called “American Rule.”...more
In In the Interest of K.K.W., an ex-wife sued an ex-husband and the trustee of a trust that they created for breaches of fiduciary duty and sought to remove the trustee, among other claims, arising out of the trustee’s...more
In In re Cousins, a trustee filed a mandamus proceeding to challenge a trial court’s order denying his motion to pay his attorney’s fees from the trust. No. 12-18-00104-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 3930 (Tex. App.—Tyler May 31,...more
In In the Interest of K.K.W., a father and mother, who were settlors, filed competing claims regarding the interpretation of a trust for their son. No. 05-16-00795-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 2174 (Tex. App.—Dallas March 27,...more
California trust litigation often stems from disagreements and hostility among family member co-trustees. Rather than picking one of their kids to serve as sole successor trustee when they die or become incapacitated, Mom and...more
Supreme Court Advance Release Opinions: SC19384 - State v. Carter - SC19282 - State v. Peeler - Appellate Court Advance Release Opinions: AC37262 - Dumbauld v. Dumbauld - AC37262 Concurrence -...more
In re Estate of House, 2014 Wash. App. LEXIS 3006 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014) - A release waiving any and all claims that the parties may have or may acquire, bars recovery for unknown claims existing at the time the release...more
In Estate of Richardson, a remainder beneficiary of a trust filed a declaratory judgment action to declare that the trust would terminate five years after its creation. No. 14-12-00516-CV, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 2664 (Tex....more