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Counsel of Good Value: Ziegler Metzger's Motto Since 1952

Protecting Clients In Probate: Will Contests

At Ziegler Metzger LLP, our estate planning and probate attorneys work with the firm’s litigation attorneys to assure that clients receive dependable advice and skilled representation in the event of a dispute over the terms or validity of a will or trust, an executor’s or trustee’s responsibilities to a beneficiary, or conflicting claims regarding the ownership of assets.

Our lawyers serve clients in the Greater Cleveland area and throughout Ohio, in all types of probate and trust litigation matters, including will and trust disputes. We take a smart approach to dispute resolution in will and trust contest actions and breach of fiduciary duty claims involving trustees, executors or administrators.

Our firm’s experience allows us to identify a range of solutions designed to protect our client’s interests while minimizing the need for protracted litigation. We also work to minimize litigation risk, as when we advise trustees about the scope of their discretion under ambiguous trust terms. We can even file for declaratory relief when the risks of committing to any one of several plausible interpretations are too great to accept prudently.

We represent heirs, beneficiaries, trustees, executors, administrators and any other party with an interest in a will, trust or estate in dispute. We can defend or prosecute will and trust contest claims involving:

  • Incapacity: A person creating a will or trust needs to be “of sound mind” for the will or trust to be valid. When someone loses capacity, he or she is not of sound mind and this would invalidate a will or trust.
  • Undue influence: When someone intimidates or coerces the testator or grantor (person making the will or trust) regarding the will or trust itself, it is similarly not a valid will or trust because it does not actually reflect the person’s intention.
  • Fraud: When a person has been defrauded, he or she doesn’t have truthful information on which to make decisions, so making a will based on fraudulent information would also invalidate a will or trust.
  • Other invalidating circumstances

Contact Ziegler Metzger LLP

Find out more about our experience with trust and estate litigation problems of all kinds, from the simplest to the most complex. Call us at 216-273-6726 or contact us online to schedule a meeting with an attorney from Ziegler Metzger LLP.