Probate & Fiduciary Litigation

Protecting Your Family

When an estate plan goes awry or a trust provision is disputed, you need an advocate you can count on. Clients turn to us in complex, high-value trusts and estates disputes, including will contests, trust challenges, breach of fiduciary actions, and other matters. Our attorneys have worked on cutting-edge cases that define trusts and estates law. We have a track record of navigating challenging and complex family dynamics and reaching favorable resolutions that provide long-term solutions. Whether you are a trustee, a personal representative, an executor, a beneficiary, or have another interest, our cross-practice team, which includes litigators, trusts and estates lawyers, and tax attorneys, works to identify creative legal theories and solutions to each problem.

Mintz Secures Resounding Victory in Multi-Venue Estate Dispute

Mintz attorneys from our Private Client and Complex Commercial Litigation practices successfully represented a client in numerous lawsuits and appeals brought by her stepson, who had no legally protected interest in his late father’s estate.

Our Approach

Trusts and estates disputes are personal. In cases where family dynamics are strained, emotions run high, and estate plans are complex, we take the time to get to know our clients and what matters to them. Our practice supports trustees, executors, personal representatives, and beneficiaries of high-value estates in resolving sensitive disputes over significant, multigenerational assets both in and outside of courts. We work collaboratively with accountants, investment advisors, family offices, and others to evaluate the total picture and understand the nuances of the assets at issue. At the start of any dispute, we evaluate each client’s goals and develop strategies to achieve them. With sensitive issues and family dynamics often at stake, we often reach favorable resolutions outside the courtroom, aiming to solve the problem at hand and anticipate and prevent future disputes. When settlement is not on the table, we shine as fierce advocates in probate, trial, and appellate courts.

Nationwide Reach

Our skilled, cross-office team of litigators has a nationwide scope of practice. We have decades of experience practicing in probate, civil, and appellate courts across the country, including those in Massachusetts, New York, California, Florida, and Alaska.

Multifaceted Approach

Our probate and fiduciary disputes team works hand-in-hand with attorneys in our Private Client and Tax practices who have deep experience in trusts and estates planning and administration, tax planning, and charitable giving. Our clients benefit from our “one firm” approach, where we call on our colleagues to provide seamless and specialized advice. When complex issues arise concerning real estate or closely held businesses, as they often do in these cases, we also lean on attorneys in our national Real Estate Practice and team focused on closely held businesses.

Highly Regarded

Our team includes a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a group of peer-elected trusts and estates attorneys across the United States and abroad, as well as multiple board members and officers of the Boston Estate Planning Council. Multiple Mintz practices and relevant attorneys are repeatedly recognized in Chambers USA, including in the Complex Litigation, Private Wealth Law, and Real Estate rankings.

Areas of Focus