The end of a family member's life is an emotional time. It can bring out the best of people, but it can also elicit concerns and disputes about the distribution of assets and trust accounts.
New York Lawyers Team is an experienced Staten Island probate law team. We serve as legal counsel and/or as trustee for the private and family trusts of many successful families throughout the Staten Island region and New York state. We also serve as court-appointed trustees when a trust is under dispute or is being litigated or no administrator has been named in the estate holder's will.
Our Staten Island team is ready to handle everything necessary to resolve your trust dispute, often without a costly, bitter lawsuit. When you meet with us, we will prepare you for the entire process and help you see how the courts are likely to interpret unclear or ambiguous language in the estate plan. Many trust disputes arise from accusations of undue influence upon the estate holder. These disputes are most often among family members who are facing emotional turmoil over the death of a parent or grandparent. We will help you get to the core of the dispute, which is often the first — and most important — step in coming to a fair resolution among parties.
If parties in a trust dispute cannot come together to resolve an issue, a probate judge will generally order the lawyers on both sides to seek some form of alternative dispute resolution to attempt to resolve the issue out of court. We assist the client who is acting as trustee, personal representative or beneficiary by preparing for and participating in mediation and/or arbitration of contested probate and trust matters. Although only the most extreme trust litigation cases end up going to trial, if that becomes necessary, we are prepared to fight for you.