Articles Posted in WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATE LITIGATION

The Atlanta, Georgia probate litigation lawyers at our Firm who have lawsuits and disputes ongoing in Marietta, Cobb County; Atlanta, Fulton County; Decatur, DeKalb County; Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, as well as other Metro Atlanta area county probate courts have seen breach of fiduciary claims on the rise.

The reasons behind this trend? THE ECONOMY!

It altogether makes sense to understand that in these troubled times, a Georgia executor, administrator, attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney, trustees, or other fiduciary, would “dip into the pot” of estate funds which are meant for the beneficiaries or heirs. The reasoning, we have concluded, is that no one will believe or be able to show that these fiduciaries have abused their powers by navigating estate funds into their own interest and use. Moreover, many Georgia beneficiaries and heirs do not know what their rights are and as such, do not know that fiduciaries have a vast and affirmative obligation upon them to “do the right thing” and manage the Georgia estate they are overseeing and controlling in the best interests of all of the beneficiaries and heirs.

On the contrary, altogether good executors, administrators, attorneys-in-fact, trustees, and other fiduciaries that are doing a good and adequate job are being accused of all sorts of heinous acts and breaches of their fiduciary duty by paranoid and overbearing beneficiaries and heirs.

If you feel that an executor, administrator, attorney-in-fact, or other Georgia fiduciary is not living up to their lofty obligations; The Libby Law Firm specializes in evaluating, scrutinizing, and analyzing the dealings of executors, administrators, attorneys-in-fact, and trustees who have fiduciary duties to others. If our Firm finds wrongdoing, we appropriately and often aggressively seek legal remedies for our clients.

Our Firm also specializing in assisting, guiding and defending executors, administrators, attorneys-in-fact, trustees, and other Georgia fiduciaries in carrying out their obligations in a legally proper and appropriate way. The Libby Law Firm also lends the appropriate support, care, and protection to the blameless fiduciaries in the course of carry out their duties. We also specialize in putting other fiduciaries back on track that have gotten off course or found they need the expertise of experienced Atlanta probate attorneys at the helm.
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Atlanta, Georgia probate litigation Lawyers, who specialize in wills, trusts, estates and probate, as I do, tell clients and potential clients that meeting with an Atlanta, GA attorney to acquire an overview of how their assets are held is essential. This straightforward estate planning is indispensable because some assets are better suited when held or titled in a form under which the assets will pass outside of the purview of the Georgia county probate court. It is also a critical step to ensure that your assets pass to the persons or entities you desire and to avoid almost unavoidable fighting, bickering, probate disputes and probate litigation that develops when it is not clear where, and/or to whom, estate assets are legally to be distributed.

Unfortunately, most of us neglect to say why this is a good idea. In fact, if Georgia county probate courts didn’t happen to be in charge of granting marriage licenses, most Georgians might never encounter the word “probate” until they lose a loved one and matters are mixed up and confusing to say the least. However, this is not the Georgia county probate court’s fault in any way, shape or form. It is the lack of planning on the individual’s part that causes the potential and oftentimes devastating confusion and fighting amongst family members. As such, it is critical to meet with an experienced Atlanta, GA probate lawyer to set up your estate plan in a fashion which will avoid all of the above-mentioned confusion. In short, the old sayings go: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and “greed brings out the worst in people“. The fact of the matter is, if there are estate monies, stocks, assets, properties, etc. which are not clearly designated to an heir or beneficiary under an estate plan formulated by a qualified Atlanta, GA estate planning and probate lawyer, people will fight “tooth and nail” to get at these assets and make them their own. And, you can rest assured they will not come alone, they will come with their own Georgia probate lawyers, accountants, experts and the like. An experienced attorney can create an estate plan for you that can help to prevent these disputes, or at least minimize them to a large extent.
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