Representative Estate Litigation Matters

WLG provides estate and trust planning services for individuals with respect to a wide variety of planning needs and financial backgrounds, including but not limited to the needs of artists and innovators seeking to protect and manage diverse portfolios of intellectual property rights, advising clients with respect to rights transfers, royalty disputes, infringement actions, and management vehicles such as family corporations and literary trusts. WLG has extensive litigation and appellate experience with respect to trusts, estates, custodianships and guardianships, representing fiduciaries, beneficiaries and interested partis in numerous matters involving UTMA, caveat, orders for issues, appeals, court-authorized special needs trusts, breach of fiduciary duty, removal, conversion, fraud, ademption, will construction, bad faith, estoppel and other topics. A representative listing of matters is as follows:

— Representation of minor beneficiaries to compel trustee of testamentary trust to distribute to parents of minors pursuant to Maryland Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. Issues involving UTMA and the Maryland Trust Act. Circuit Court for Baltimore County (Case No. C-03-CV-21-001839).

— Representation of heir/legatee to remove personal representative and appoint special administrator. Issues involving order for issues, caveat, common law marriage and appeal. Anne Arundel County Orphans Court (Estate No. 51528); Anne Arundel County Circuit Court (Case Nos. 02-C-05-103532 and 02-C-04-094818).

— Representation of disabled individual to establish an individual account in a pooled asset special needs trust established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(C) and COMAR 10.09.24.08-2(B)(6)(b). Anne Arundel County Circuit Court (Case No. C-02-FM-21-003168).

— Representation of heir/legatee to remove personal representative and obtain award of damages. Issues involving negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, fraud, constructive fraud, ademption, construction of Will, forfeiture if corporate charter, duties in administering estates, removal of personal representative, dissipation of estate assets, estate title to assets, corporate title to assets, bad faith, and estoppel. Resolution in favor of heir/legatee in which Personal Representative agreed to personally pay $150,000 in damages to legatee. Anne Arundel County Orphans Court (Estate No. 82847); Anne Arundel County Circuit Court (Case No. C-02-CV-17-002846); Court of Special Appeals (Case No. 2349, September Term 2017); Court of Appeals (Case No. NO. 0112, SEPTEMBER TERM, 2019).

— Representation of contract purchaser in appeal from a decision by the Orphans’ Court to set aside contract between contract purchaser and personal representative. Issues involving standing of a non-interested party in a probate proceeding to appeal an adverse decision. Judgment in favor of contract purchaser, reversing the Orphans’ Court, in case reported by the Court of Appeals. Anne Arundel Orphans Court; Anne Arundel County Circuit Court; Court of Special Appeals (Knight v. Princess Builders, Inc., 162 Md. App. 526, 875 A.2d 771 (2005), aff'd, 393 Md. 31, 899 A.2d 156 (2006); Court of Appeals (Knight v. Princess Builders, Inc., 393 Md. 31, 899 A.2d 156 (2006)).

— Representation of Estate in action to stay foreclosure action brought by national lender. Issues involving residential real property foreclosure, construction of Maryland Rules pertaining to residential foreclosures, federal regulations relating to residential foreclosures, dual tracking. Circuit Court for Howard County (Case No. C-13-CV-19-000365.)

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?