Foley & Mansfield's Probate and Trust Litigation Practice group provides legal services in three distinct areas, namely: litigation; administration; and planning. This litigation often requires the practitioner to reconcile zealous, aggressive advocacy with potentially volatile intra-family dynamics. Probate litigation requires a balancing of sensitivity to family relationships and an aggressive approach to litigation which depends on the particular client's situation. Foley & Mansfield attorneys represent individuals, charitable organizations, as well as other organizations in will contests, trust contests, breach of fiduciary duty cases, discovery of asset claims, guardian/conservatorship proceedings, abuse of power of attorney actions, determination of heirship proceedings, and suits for an accounting.

We also provide legal services in the administration of probate and trust estates. These services typically involve the preparation of court filings including petitions for appointment of executors/guardians/conservators, inventories of assets, motions, settlements/accountings, and petitions for distributions. In addition, we represent individuals as fiduciaries or as individual claimants in adversarial court proceedings involving claims against probate and trust estates. We help prepare federal and state income and estate tax returns for estates and trusts.

Ancillary to these litigation and administration services, we provide estate planning services to clients. Our estate planning services include counseling clients and the preparation of wills, revocable living trusts, living wills and power of attorney documents for health care and asset management.

With over ten years of experience in handling probate and trust matters, our practice group is well-seasoned in issues involving lack of capacity, undue influence, asset mismanagement, and asset misappropriation. This experience is invaluable in the estate and trust administration as well as in the estate planning areas. We constantly strive to successfully resolve matters for our clients in the most difficult of times and circumstances.