It is not surprising that trust and estate disputes continue to increase. The number of people entering retirement age is increasing. The mobility and transience of American society are accelerating. The amount of people who have remarried with children from a prior marriage is expanding. Those trends mean that more people than ever are becoming elderly with diminishing capacity, an absence of close family members nearby to care for them, and the potential for disfavoring heirs in asset distribution. Experienced and knowledgeable retired judicial officers offer their service as private judges to determine disputed issues in a case. The initial reaction of many parties is that the cost of a private judge is prohibitive. The cost, however, may turn out to be less than the cost of proceeding in the superior court.
Hartog, Baer & Hand is the only Trusts and Estates boutique firm among the Top 20. This is a tremendous honor, and we congratulate our entire team for the outstanding work they do for HBH clients each and every day.
Ryan Szczepanik and Michael Gerson will discuss a litigator’s perspective to handling disputes to fiduciary accounting.
Times of economic stress may reveal trust asset mismanagement. Alternative fee structures may provide a solution.