Estate Litigation Attorney Serving the San Francisco Bay Area
When an inheritance turns into a dispute, you want an estate litigation attorney who lives in the courtroom. Mark Malachowski has spent more than eighteen years litigating wills, trusts, and fiduciary matters in California Superior and Federal courts, for beneficiaries and heirs, and for the executors and trustees who defend an estate.
What estate litigation covers
Will contests
Challenging or defending a will’s validity on grounds of capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution.
Trust disputes
Litigation over trust terms, amendments, distributions, and the conduct of trustees.
Breach of fiduciary duty
Holding executors, administrators, and trustees to the legal obligations they owe an estate.
Probate & accounting litigation
Contested administrations, petitions to compel an accounting, and surcharge claims.
Undue influence & elder abuse
Protecting vulnerable elders and challenging plans procured through pressure or manipulation.
Omitted heirs & inheritance claims
Pretermitted-child and omitted-spouse claims, and the defense of estates against them.
What an estate litigation attorney does
What is estate litigation?
Estate litigation is the practice of resolving disputes over what happens to a person’s assets when they die or lose capacity. It plays out in probate and civil court and covers everything from a contested will to a trustee who will not account for the money. Where estate planning tries to prevent conflict, estate litigation resolves it once it has already begun.
Common estate disputes we handle
Malachowski & Associates litigates will contests, trust disputes, and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims against executors and trustees, along with contested accountings, undue-influence and capacity challenges, fraud and forgery claims, omitted-heir disputes, and the real-property fights, such as partition of inherited property, that so often accompany them.
Representing both beneficiaries and fiduciaries
Mark represents beneficiaries and heirs who believe an estate was mishandled, and he represents the executors and trustees defending their administration. Seeing the dispute from both sides sharpens judgment about how a case is likely to play out, and where the leverage really is.
A litigator’s approach
With more than eighteen years in Northern California Superior and Federal courts, Mark prepares every matter as if it will be tried, which strengthens his position at the negotiating table and often produces a favorable resolution before trial. A background in science, including a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in addition to his law degree, helps him break down fact-intensive, document-heavy disputes for judges and juries.
Grounds and deadlines matter
California recognizes specific grounds to challenge a will or trust, including lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or forgery, and improper execution, and the deadlines are strict. Once a trust becomes irrevocable, a trustee’s notice under Probate Code section 16061.7 can start a 120-day window to bring a contest. Other claims carry their own limitation periods, so the safest step is to ask early.
A clear path from first call to resolution
Case assessment
We review your documents and the timeline, identify the grounds and deadlines, and tell you where you stand.
Strategy & leverage
We build the case, secure the evidence, and negotiate from a position of strength.
Resolution
We settle when it serves you and try the case in court when it does not.
Questions clients ask
Estate litigation is the process of resolving legal disputes over a person’s estate, including will contests, trust disputes, and claims against executors or trustees, in probate and civil court after a death or a loss of capacity.
Consider speaking with an estate litigation attorney when a will or trust was changed under suspicious circumstances, a trustee or executor will not communicate or account for assets, money or property has gone missing, or you have been left out of a plan you expected to share in. Because deadlines can be short, earlier is better.
Probate is the court-supervised process of administering an estate. Estate litigation is what happens when that process is contested, for example when someone challenges the will, questions the trustee’s conduct, or disputes how assets are being distributed.
Call 415-983-0717 to discuss your matter. The firm offers a free initial consultation on civil litigation matters. Cost depends on the nature and complexity of the dispute, which Mark will discuss with you directly.
Common grounds include lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or forgery, duress, and improper execution. You cannot contest simply because you are unhappy with the terms, because the law requires a recognized legal ground.
Both. Mark represents trustees and executors defending their administration as well as beneficiaries and heirs challenging it, which means he understands estate disputes from every side.
It depends on the claim. When a trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee’s notice under Probate Code section 16061.7 generally starts a 120-day period to file a contest. Other claims have different limitation periods, and missing a deadline can bar an otherwise valid claim, so act promptly.
Facing an estate or trust dispute?
Talk to a litigator who has spent nearly two decades in California probate and civil courts. You’ll get a clear read on your options and a plan.