California Trust and Estate Dispute Attorneys

IF YOU'RE A BENEFICIARY

A sibling controls everything, the questions go unanswered, and the "family plan" has become the family fight.

IF YOU'RE THE TRUSTEE

You're doing the job honestly, and a beneficiary is accusing you of things that never happened.

Either way, the clock matters more than you may realize. We represent beneficiaries and trustees across the Bay Area from our Burlingame office.



Got a notice from a trustee? You may have only 120 days. See the deadline ↓

WHAT WE LITIGATE

Trust and Estate Disputes We Handle

Every estate dispute is a family story with legal questions inside it. These are the ones we litigate most.

Trust and will contests

Trust and Will Contests

Challenging or defending a trust or will on grounds of undue influence, fraud, improper execution, or lack of capacity. The late-in-life amendment that suddenly favors one child is the classic case.

Trustee breach of fiduciary duty

Trustee Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Self-dealing, mismanaged or hidden assets, unexplained fees, or a trustee treating the trust like a personal account.

Accounting demands

Accounting Demands

California law generally entitles beneficiaries to a trust accounting at least annually. When a trustee goes silent, we compel it and read it line by line.

Inheritance disputes over real property

Inheritance Disputes Over Real Property

Who gets the house, at what value, and on what terms: the most common flashpoint in Bay Area estates.

Elder financial abuse

Elder Financial Abuse

When someone isolated or pressured an aging parent to rewrite the plan, California law provides powerful remedies.

Representing beneficiaries taught us how trustees get caught. Defending trustees taught us how contests fail. This means that whichever chair you sit in, your attorney already knows the other side's playbook — what they'll argue, what they must prove, and where their case cracks.

WE REPRESENT BOTH SIDES

Which Side of the Dispute Are You On?

Some firms only sue trustees. Some only defend them. We do both, and that's deliberate.

BENEFICIARIES

You've been shut out

  • No accounting, or one that doesn't add up
  • A trustee treating the trust as their own
  • A late change to the plan you believe was pressured

TRUSTEES

You're being accused

  • A demand for an accounting or a petition to remove you
  • Claims of self-dealing or mismanagement
  • A beneficiary challenging the trust itself

Representing beneficiaries taught us how trustees get caught, so we know where their case will crack.

It also keeps us honest with you. If your claim is weak, we'll say so before you spend a year and a small fortune finding out in court.

This is where Danfoura Law Group is built differently. We are real estate attorneys and trust litigators under one roof — practicing both since 2006. This means that we don't just argue about who owns the property; we handle what comes next: the valuation disputes, the buyout negotiations, the deed work, and, when co-owners truly deadlock, the partition action that ends the stalemate. Read about partition actions for co-owned property.

Pure trust litigators hand that work off. We carry it through.

That combination matters in every Bay Area county we serve — San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, and Santa Clara — where estate values are driven almost entirely by real property. When a dispute touches the property itself rather than the trust, our real estate litigation team handles boundary, title, and co-ownership claims as well.

And when a dispute resolves, the estate still has to be administered — notices, accountings, distributions. Our trust administration attorneys carry the matter through to a finished, documented close, so the settlement you fought for actually gets executed.

THE FIRM'S EDGE

When the Estate Is Mostly Real Estate, You Need More Than a Trust Litigator

In most contested Bay Area estates, the fight isn't really about the trust language. It's about the house, the duplex, or the commercial building nobody can agree to sell.

Valuation disputes

What the property is actually worth

Buyout negotiations

One heir buys the others out

Deed work

Title transferred correctly

Partition action

When co-owners truly deadlock. Learn more

Real estate litigation, same firm

When a dispute touches the property itself (boundary, title, co-ownership), our real estate litigation team handles it too. Pure trust litigators hand that work off. We carry it through.

San Francisco · San Mateo · Alameda · Contra Costa · Solano · Santa Clara

Then the estate gets administered

When the dispute resolves, our trust administration attorneys carry the matter through notices, accountings, and distributions, so the settlement you fought for actually gets executed.

If you recently received a formal notice from a trustee after a death, you are likely already on the clock.

Two more things worth knowing early. These cases are governed by the California Probate Code and are heard in the probate department of the superior court — usually in the county where the trust is administered. And only a person with standing — typically a beneficiary, or an heir who would inherit if the trust failed — can bring a contest at all.

Other deadlines apply to creditor claims, will contests, financial elder abuse claims, and property disputes — each with its own statute of limitations. The pattern is the same: in estate litigation, waiting is the most expensive decision you can make. If a notice has arrived, bring it to us now, even if you're not sure you want to fight. Knowing your deadline costs nothing. Missing it can cost everything.

Attorney in one-on-one consultation with clients

120

days

California's deadline for contesting a trust after the trustee serves the required notice. Miss it, and you can lose the right to contest entirely, regardless of how strong the claim is.

DEADLINES THAT CAN END YOUR CASE BEFORE IT STARTS

Received a Notice From a Trustee? You're Likely Already on the Clock.

Which court: governed by the California Probate Code and heard in the probate department, usually in the county where the trust is administered.

Who can bring it: only a person with standing, typically a beneficiary or an heir who would inherit if the trust failed.

Other clocks: creditor claims, will contests, elder abuse claims, and property disputes each carry their own deadline.

Waiting is the most expensive decision in estate litigation. If a notice has arrived, bring it to us now, even if you're not sure you want to fight. Knowing your deadline costs nothing.

Assess
Demand and negotiate
Litigate when it counts

HOW WE APPROACH THESE CASES

Settle From Strength, Litigate When It Counts

STEP 1

Assess

We review the trust, the notices, and the facts, and give you a straight answer about the strength of your position and your deadlines.

STEP 2

Demand and negotiate

Most estate disputes should settle. Family relationships and estate value both burn in prolonged litigation, so we push for resolution from a position of prepared strength.

STEP 3

Litigate when it counts

When the other side won't be reasonable, we try the case, and we never forget the goal is your inheritance and your family's future.

Transparent fees and detailed invoices throughout. You'll always know what the fight is costing, and whether it's still worth it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Trust Dispute Questions

  • What is undue influence?

    Undue influence, under California law, means excessive persuasion that overcomes a person's free will and causes an unfair result — for example, a caregiver or relative isolating an elderly parent and pressuring changes to a trust or will. California courts examine the victim's vulnerability, the influencer's authority, the tactics used, and the fairness of the outcome.


    If the story of how the documents changed doesn't add up, that instinct is worth a conversation.

  • Can a trustee be removed?

    Yes. A California probate court can remove a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, hostility that impairs administration, unfitness, or failure to account to beneficiaries. Beneficiaries may petition the court for removal, and courts can also order a trustee to repay losses caused by misconduct — a remedy called a surcharge.


    Removal is a serious remedy, and judges don't grant it lightly. We'll tell you honestly whether your facts support it — and if they don't yet, what documentation will.

  • What happens if I lose a trust contest? Does a no-contest clause disinherit me?

    A no-contest clause is a trust or will provision stating that a beneficiary who challenges the document forfeits their inheritance. Under California law, no-contest clauses are enforced only in limited circumstances, and a contest brought with probable cause may not trigger forfeiture. Whether a specific claim risks forfeiture requires careful legal analysis before filing.


    This is exactly the question to resolve before filing anything — and one more reason not to navigate a contest alone.

The Deadline Is Running Whether or Not You're Ready

Bring us the notice, the trust, and your questions. A partner will tell you where you stand, what it will take, and how long you have, in plain language, within 24 hours of your call.

When this chapter closes, make sure your own plan never puts your children through the same thing. Estate planning →