Estate Litigation

Pennsylvania Estate Litigation Attorney

Estate litigation can be legally and emotionally challenging. Will contests, the most common form of estate litigation, often sets family members in opposition due to a will changed late in life. The administration of estates and trusts is often a complex process that is quite foreign to the average individual. Actions and conduct on the part of individual and corporate executors and trustees often goes unnoticed and under-reported. Occasionally required reports and accounts are not prepared and filed or are not prepared and filed timely with appropriate notice to beneficiaries. Sometimes reports and accounts are so complicated or so poorly prepared that they are nearly impossible to comprehend.

The Law Offices of Stephen G. Welz, P.C., in Reading, Pennsylvania, has significant experience helping family members resolve estate litigation matters. We have demonstrated a tenacious ability to identify and question otherwise unreported or concealed irregularities and have succeeded in holding both individual and corporate executors, agents and trustees accountable for their actions or inactions.

A Focused Approach to Estate Litigation

There are numerous issues that can be contested during the administration of an estate. Challenges to a will are the most common. However, there can also be issues associated with the estate administration process, the performance of fiduciaries and trustees, and when beneficiaries can sue for increased inheritances.

• Will Contests - Testamentary capacity is the primary issue involved in will contests. This is closely associated with claims that undue influence was placed on the deceased to change or alter a will. Often will contests involve issues such as life insurance distribution, common law marriages, and lifetime promises.
• Power of Attorney Contests - Relatives and beneficiaries can challenge an agent given authority to represent the financial matters of a person that is deceased or incapacitated. This type of litigation is brought when the person granted a power of attorney misappropriate or mishandles the assets of an estate.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty - Executor, administrator, and trustee have an obligation to deal with estate matter in a manner that is in the best interest of the estate. When this duty is breached, the beneficiaries can initiate litigation to recover loss associated with the breach if fiduciary duty.
• Fraudulent Transfers - Estate administrators and executors have an obligation to protect the assets of the estate for the beneficiaries. When assets are transferred from the estate, beneficiaries can initiate litigation related to the fraudulent transfer.

Our principal attorney, Stephen G. Welz, is committed to helping families resolve estate litigation through mediation and arbitration. However, having handled these matters for over twenty years, he understands that these matters often go to court before there is a resolution. He has demonstrated a tenacious ability to identify and question otherwise unreported or concealed irregularities and has succeeded in holding both individual and corporate executors, agents and trustees accountable for their actions or inactions.

Regardless of whether an estate dispute requires mediation or a trial, our firm is committed to ensuring that our clients' interests are protected throughout the process.

Contact a Pennsylvania Estate Litigation Lawyer

Please contact the Law Office of Stephen G. Welz regarding any estate litigation matter. Our firm can be reached by phone at 610-378-5272, by e-mail, or by filling the in-take form on our Contact page.