Estate & Trust Litigation

Estate and trust litigation involves many issues, including family businesses, fiduciary duties, tax law, bankruptcy, real estate, and creditor’s rights. Estate and trust disputes often involve more than money — they include emotional issues that can divide families and interfere with a personal representative or trustee’s ability to administer the estate or trust.

Henderson Franklin’s Estate & Trust Litigation team finds creative solutions to help avoid protracted litigation, contain costs, and preserve family relationships. When proceedings turn adversarial, however, our attorneys combine their in-depth understanding of trust and estate law with our experience in litigation and work vigorously to protect and advance our clients’ interests to resolve disputes.

Who We Represent

Intrust and probate litigation, Henderson Franklin’s knowledgeable Estate & Trust Litigation attorneys work together to effectively represent:

• Corporate trustees such as banks and trust companies, as well as individual trustees, personal representatives, and administrators
• Beneficiaries and heirs, including high-net-worth individuals and their families
• Interested third parties in disputed matters of probate, estates, trusts, fiduciaries, and guardianships

Our Experience

Henderson, Franklin’s Estate & Trust Litigation practice team represents clients in:

• Will and trust contests
• Undue influence, duress and lack of capacity claims
• Breach of fiduciary duty claims in an estate or trust
• Fraud and fraudulent transfers in an estate or trust
• Actions are taken by agents under powers of attorney
• Contested guardianships

We also draw on the breadth of substantive knowledge of other Henderson Franklin attorneys for advice on unique aspects of a dispute, including tax, environmental, intellectual property, real estate, and corporate law. Whether it is probate or civil court, including appeals, our clients benefit from our experience in handling trust and estate litigation matters, in and out of the courtroom.

Our Locations

All of the firm’s Trust & Estate Litigation attorneys are available to meet in any of our offices throughout Southwest Florida, including Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, and Naples. For further assistance and coordination of a new matter, please contact Eric Gurgold by phone, 239-344-1162 or by email at eric.gurgold@henlaw.com.