PRACTICE AREA
Trust & Estate Disputes
When a Trust or Will Does Not Reflect What Your Loved One Actually Intended.
The most painful estate disputes are not about money. They are about a feeling — that the document being read in court does not match the person you knew, the parent who would never have cut you out, the grandparent who would never have left everything to a caretaker she met six months ago.
Often that feeling is right. When a trust, will, or deed was procured through undue influence, fraud, or while your loved one no longer had capacity, California law gives you the tools to challenge it. Stewart Levin has handled these cases in both civil and probate court for more than thirty years
How We Recover What Was Taken
Trust Contests:
When a trust amendment was procured under suspicious circumstances — a sudden change in beneficiaries, a change made during cognitive decline, a change drafted by someone with a personal interest in the outcome — we move to invalidate it and restore the prior plan.
Deed Cancellations:
When real property was transferred during a period of cognitive impairment, or under pressure from a family member or caretaker, we can move to set the transfer aside.
Will Contests:
Will contests turn on questions of capacity, undue influence, and proper execution. We have the trial experience to litigate them through verdict where settlement is not possible.
Beneficiary and Fiduciary Disputes:
When a trustee, executor, or attorney-in-fact has breached their duties — self-dealing, improper transfers, failure to account — we hold them accountable and recover what was lost.
What These Cases Often Look Like
A trust amendment was signed in the final weeks or months of life
The change benefits a caretaker, new spouse, or recently re-emerged family member
The decedent had been diagnosed with dementia or cognitive impairment
The document was drafted by someone connected to the new beneficiary
Longtime beneficiaries were cut out without explanation
The signature on the document does not look right, or the witnessing was irregular
What Happens When You Call
Most of our clients have never hired a litigation attorney before.
Here is what the process looks like.
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Step 1
It starts with a conversation.
The case evaluation is free and confidential. You tell us what happened; we tell you honestly whether you have a case worth pursuing.
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Step 2
Most clients pay nothing up front.
These cases are typically handled on contingency — we are paid from the recovery, and only if there is one. Hourly arrangements are available for those who prefer them.
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Step 3
We move quickly to preserve evidence.
The estate-planning documents and prior versions, the drafting attorney’s file, medical and capacity records, bank records, and communications surrounding the signing all need to be gathered before they get harder to obtain.
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Step 4
You stay informed.
You will know what is happening, why we are making the choices we make, and what to expect next.
Prove What Your Loved One Actually Intended.
Call (310) 777-7550 or email stewart@beverlyhillselderlaw.com for a free, confidential case evaluation.