Trust and Estate Litigation

In addition to handling both simple and complex probate matters, the attorneys of Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, L.L.P. also handle trust and estate litigation. Estate litigation may include, among other things, will contests and claims against executors and administrators. Trust litigation may also include seeking court instructions under Okla. Stat. tit. 60, § 175.23(A), as well as claims of mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty.

The Firm's attorneys have handled a number of trust and estate litigation matters for both individual clients and corporate fiduciaries. The Firm is counsel of record in numerous reported decisions in the area of claims against trustees for breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement. The Firm can handle either side of this type of dispute, representing heirs and trust beneficiaries in pursuing claims of mismanagement, as well as representing trustees and other fiduciaries in minimizing risks associated with claims of mismanagement. In one representative case, the Firm represented the family of an elderly elementary school teacher in challenging a will and trust that favored a psychic who had befriended the teacher toward the end of her life. The Firm obtained judgments setting aside the will and trust on the basis of undue influence, and successfully defended the judgments on appeal. The Firm was subsequently authorized to pursue the trust's claims against the psychic and others involved in the unduly-influenced estate-planning documents. In another representative case, the Firm successfully pursued contempt of court proceedings against a former trust beneficiary who had interfered with the administration of a trust, successfully defending the contempt conviction in an appeal that resulted in a published decision.

The Firm's attorneys designed and teach an annual continuing education seminar in this area of the law.