The Demiris Law Firm, P.C. successfully defends against multi-million dollar trust litigation

The Demiris Law Firm, P.C. was able to successfully defend a co-trustee who was sued both as trustee and individually in a civil lawsuit that involved a trust contest, where the total at stake was approximately $7 million. See Contra Costa County Superior Court Case No. MSC17-01090. The matter ultimately settled with the contesting heir who filed the civil lawsuit, which included claims of lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, intentional interference with expected inheritance, and other claims including a Probate Code section 21380 claim. The terms of the trust were upheld in their entirety and confirmed by separate court order in Contra Costa County Superior Court Case No. MSP17-00407. The contesting heir agreed that all claims against the co-trustees would be

dismissed.

One of the key parts to the settlement resulted in the contesting heir providing the Trust a 1/2 interest in a real property that was not titled in the trust prior to the death of the settlor (valued at approximately $500,000) and also forfeiting 1/2 of the rents (valued at approximately $150,000) in exchange for $400,000. In other words, the Trust was able to net $250,000 as a result of the defense of the trust contest in the civil case.