Emotions are raw after the death of a loved one. When someone is left out of a will, or there are issues with the executor, tensions can run high. These matters can be extremely challenging to resolve and often require taking legal action, as difficult as that might be. If you find yourself in this situation, you need an attorney who is experienced in estate planning and administration as well as estate litigation. At Landskind & Ricaforte Law Group, P.C., our attorneys understand how important it is to our clients to protect family relationships while standing up for what they believe they are entitled to from a loved one’s estate. If you need to contest a will or challenge an executor, contact our New York attorneys to discuss your options.
Successfully Representing Clients in a Variety of Estate Litigation Matters
Many estate litigation cases involve the contesting of a will, but other issues can also lead to the need to take a matter to court. Renata Landskind and Terence Ricaforte have helped clients resolve a range of issues, including the following:
- Will contests. If you believe you were unfairly left out of a will or were not bequeathed what you think you should have been, you may have cause to contest the will.
- Trust contests. As with a will, family members with a valid stake may not be named in trust documents when they believe they should have been. Litigation may be the right course of action.
- Accountings. If you are a beneficiary of a will or trust and you believe the executor or trustee has stolen or misappropriated property, co-mingled assets, or abused power, our attorneys can force the fiduciary to file a formal accounting.
- Breach of fiduciary duty. If an executor of a will or a trustee of a trust acts contrary to his or her duty, it could be considered a breach of fiduciary duty. As a beneficiary, you may be able to take legal action in civil court.
- Removal of an executor, administrator, or trustee. If you have reason to believe that the named executor or trustee, or the court-appointed administrator, is the wrong person for the job, you can file suit to try to have him or her removed.
- Guardianship proceedings. If parents of minor children pass away and have not named a guardian for the children—or there is disagreement over a named guardian—the interested parties will need lawyers to bring the dispute to a judge.
- Contested powers of attorney or health care proxy. If a loved one becomes incapacitated and there is a dispute over named or appointed powers of attorney or health care proxies, legal action may need to be taken.
- Much more. Other estate litigation issues we have successfully resolved for our clients have involved real estate partition actions, fraudulent transfers, trust reformation, wrongful death recovery, protection of beneficiary rights, spousal right of election, and more.
Whatever your legal issue is with a loved one’s estate, our experienced litigators can help you resolve the situation in court.
We Are the Go-to Estate Litigators in New York
At Landskind & Ricaforte Law Group, P.C., our attorneys have vast experience with all of the tri-state area Surrogate’s Courts in initiating and defending these types of proceedings. Ms. Landskind began her career working closely with the Kings County Surrogate’s Court as an attorney at the office of the Counsel to the Public Administrator of Kings County. Mr. Ricaforte’s trial experience gives him the necessary tools to represent you in any sort of contested proceeding. If you are reeling after learning the details of a deceased loved one’s will or trust—or have another legal issue with an estate—our attorneys want to hear your story. We will be straightforward and honest about your chances in court and whether we can help or not. We don’t want to waste your time or ours. If we believe we can help you, we will build a case and aggressively litigate the matter. Contact us in our Brooklyn office today for a free consultation by calling 718-333-5007.