The attorneys of Muller Lebensburger & Schwartz serve as legal counsel in matters involving fiduciary, trust, and probate litigation. We also are experienced in litigating cases involving intentional interference with a beneficiary’s inheritance, exploitation of the elderly, and will and trust contests. We also represent fiduciaries in defending against unwarranted claims by beneficiaries and other third parties.
Under law, a fiduciary owes the highest level of duty to another. Oftentimes, fiduciaries such as trustees, estate executors, or attorneys-in-fact under durable powers of attorney breach their fiduciary duties to beneficiaries, or are accused of doing so. We are experienced in representing plaintiffs and defendants in prosecuting or defending against allegations of breaches of fiduciary duties.
Will and trust contests are becoming more prevalent in today’s society as more beneficiaries are trying to “renegotiate” their inheritance after a decedent’s death. Additionally, there exists an unwanted segment of society that is actively looking to try to interfere with established estate plans. Through undue influence and duress, these individuals seek to exploit the elderly, and are very successful in having entire estate plans rewritten to them, often right under the “noses” of family members and other intended beneficiaries.We are experienced in representing clients in both prosecuting and defending will and trust contests, as well as claims involving exploitation of the eldery, and intentional interference with an inheritance.
As a beneficiary of a Will or a Trust, you have rights. Sometimes those rights are ignored or neglected by a trustee, executor, or other fiduciaries. We serve as legal counsel to beneficiaries seeking to understand and enforce their rights. We work hard to see that a beneficiary gets the information and monies due to them under law, including by going to Court to seek accountings of assets, or to force distributions of monies.
Exploitation of the elderly is a serious problem in Florida, and across the United States. Whether it is a caregiver misappropriating assets, an attorney-in-fact abusing their authority under a power of attorney, a trusted family member changing beneficiary designations on life insurance contracts and IRAs, or improper withdrawals from a senior’s convenience checking account, the reports of exploitation of the elderly are becoming more prevalent day by day. We assist families in seeking to recover assets wrongfully taken as a result of such exploitation.