Bette Epstein, Esq.

• Matter involving trustee of a $12 million trust against claims of breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, removal and multiple accounting disputes
• Handled case involving five siblings as beneficiaries of a trust including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence and elder abuse against family member trustee, resulting in settlement benefitting beneficiaries of more than $600,000
• Handled case involving bank in its capacity as special co-trustee against allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and surcharge in court trial resulting in motion for judgment granted at end of petitioners’ case
• Case involving wife trustee against claims by husband for breach of fiduciary duty, elder abuse and failure to account; trustee provided eight-year accounting resulting in no surcharge against wife
• Family member filed claims against her sibling for breach of fiduciary duty in his capacity as trustee, power of attorney and health care agent resulting in his removal as trustee, revocation of power of attorney and appointment of professional fiduciary as successor trustee

• Case involving breach of fiduciary duty by trustee of family trust related to alleged mis-management of trust assets and failure to account

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• Dispute between father and son over appointment of conservator for personal estate of wife/mother.
• Concerns re proposed conservatee's inability to manage finances resulting in agreement that he will institute and fund a trust with professional fiduciary serving as trustee.
• Represented adult children of elderly father who was being physically neglected by their mother in seeking the appointment of a conservator to manage his care. Mother adamantly opposed conservatorship but professional fiduciary was appointed conservator.
• Represented adult children whose mother had dementia, was a hoarder and was being unduly influenced by another child resulting in that child receiving millions of dollars of assets; successfully brought petition for the appointment of a professional fiduciary as conservator.
• Represented Petitioner Mother seeking CA conservatorship of developmentally disabled son whose father would not return him to CA after what was to be a 3- week visit with his father in Illinois with issue of jurisdiction the primary dispute.

• Represented Petitioner daughter seeking CA conservatorship of elderly, demented mother who visited from Texas and was found to be neglected by other daughter. Issue of jurisdiction was primary dispute.
• Contested conservatorship matters including the proposed conservatee’s objection to being conserved and competing petitions for the appointment of a conservator; resulted in alternative arrangements made to oversee care and protect proposed conservatee’s assets
• Contested conservatorship matter among family members that primarily involve where the conservatee would reside and a visiting schedule among family members.
• Handled case involving a professional fiduciary as conservator of the person and estate of an elderly man who was not able to receive appropriate care in his home due to the conflict between his children and his wife/their mother so had to be moved to a care facility

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• Handled case involving siblings as beneficiaries of a trust including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence and elder abuse against family member trustee
• Handled case involving a professional fiduciary as conservator of the person and estate of an elderly man who was not able to receive appropriate care in his home due to the conflict between his children and his wife/their mother so had to be moved to a care facility
• Handled case involving undue influence claims by claimant whose brother was found by a jury to have wrongfully received $1.7 million from their mother; court awarded $700,000 in attorneys’ fees
• Case involving wife trustee against claims by husband for breach of fiduciary duty, elder abuse and failure to account; trustee provided eight-year accounting resulting in no surcharge against wife
• Dispute involving conversion of elder’s funds during last years of his life

• Claim of malpractice based on attorney's alleged failure to advise re sale of timeshare that turned out to be a scam and resulted in transfer of $350,000 to a Mexican bank.
• Numerous disputes among family members regarding probate accounting and distribution matters, including removal, issues of failure to account, self- dealing, imprudent investments, conversion of trust assets by the trustee and surcharge claim
• Trust and estate disputes among family members and beneficiaries regarding the inventory and distribution of tangible personal property
• Trust and estate disputes among beneficiaries that primarily involved payment of attorney’s fees and costs relative to the administration of the estate
• Dispute between executor and beneficiaries involving executor’s claims for reimbursement for maintenance of real property

• Dispute between siblings regarding end-of-life changes to their parents' estate plan from leaving a residence outright to leaving a life interest with remainder to grandchildren from a different sibling.
• Petition to invalidate Fifth Amendment disinheriting Trustee's daughter in favor of grandchildren based on lack of capacity & undue influence.
• Dispute between three charitable/educational institutions, a Guardian ad Litem for the elderly Trustor, the bank trustee and the estate planner (who included himself as a trust beneficiary) relative to the validity of trust instruments and a holographic amendment.
• Dispute regarding creation of Special Needs Trust by settlor's son in favor of himself and his girlfriend after which son allegedly murdered girlfriend and killed himself.
• Dispute regarding elderly surviving spouse against claims by her step-children seeking to invalidate end-of-life estate planning changes made by her husband that were to her benefit. Settlement reached the day of trial

• Handled case involving beneficiary who wanted the right to purchase the multi- million dollar family home from estate, which was strongly opposed by other beneficiaries who wanted the home sold to a third party
• Handled case involving Decedent’s daughter in dispute with his surviving spouse (2nd wife) over the interpretation of trust instrument and claims of lack of capacity and undue influence
• Dispute regarding interpretation of trust instrument relative to method for satisfying disputed specific bequest to surviving spouse
• Dispute contesting the validity of trust amendment based on undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity

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• Dispute among two siblings regarding the value of the ranch property for purposes of equalizing the distribution of the trust assets in equal shares.
• Dispute regarding surviving Trustee's allocation and administration of sub-trusts; claims of breach of fiduciary duty and 850 recovery of assets into Bypass Trust.
• Dispute between two siblings re trust administration issues and assessment of one regarding estate plan that resulted in significantly disparate distributions.
• Petition by beneficiaries accusing family member trustee failed to account and administer trust after death of settlor.
• Allegations of breach of fiduciary duty based on trustee's failure to administer trust or take any action to protect trust assets or make them productive.

• Dispute among Decedent's daughter and second wife regarding change in beneficiary dispersion of IRA and validity of decedent's will and trust executed when decedent was 97 years old.
• Handled case involving family member trustee in trust administration dispute involving multiple pieces of real property and claims by sibling beneficiary of breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing and failure to account; resolved through mediation with non pro-rata distribution and no surcharge against beneficiary
• Dispute involving adult children as co-administrators of their father’s probate estate against claims by their decedent’s second wife for family allowance and intestate share despite dissolution proceedings pending at time of decedent’s sudden death
• Dispute involving trustee in the administration of a trust with $1 billion in assets and involved multiple creditor claims by third parties and family member beneficiaries
• Handled case regarding petition for instructions by trustee to retain reserve of $12 million in the event of an IRS audit after a closing letter had already been issued; court trial resulted in order that trustee retain $20,000 in reserve to complete trust administration
• Numerous disputes among family members regarding the disposition of the family home including issues of interpretation of estate planning instruments, valuation relative to buying out the interests of other family members and terms under which the home would be listed for sale
• Trust administration dispute involving multiple pieces of real property and claim of violation of the no-contest clause in the trust instrument
• Trust administration involving an art collection that had been maintained in storage for many years with no agreement as to its disposition
• Dispute related to the administration of Exemption and Marital Trusts for the benefit of the surviving spouse and issues related to discretionary distributions of principal
• Trust administration matter involving a ranch property held in an LLC with multiple members who were unable to agree on the management of it and/or disposition
• Trust administration involving the use of the family vacation home in the Sierras by three generations of family members
• Dispute involving the administration of a special needs trust
• Numerous disputes based on Probate Code Section 850 involving claims that 3rd party or family member was withholding trust assets, including claims for Section 859 damages and attorneys’ fees
• Dispute involving a professional fiduciary serving as trustee of court- supervised trust that involved sales of multi-million dollar properties
• Dispute involving a professional fiduciary serving as administrator of an estate that included assets held off shore by a foreign corporation, claims of theft by family members and the sale of a multi-million dollar property
• Matter involving trustee of a $12 million trust against claims of breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, removal and multiple accounting disputes

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• 850 Petition by Decedent's children challenging title to family residence by Decedent and his second wife as to community vs separate property.
• Dispute between decedent's children and his business manager regarding the validity of a holographic will in favor of the business manager.
• Dispute among multiple family members regarding validity of will with only one witness and many intermediaries over a period of five years.
• Handled dispute over validity of a Will including claims of undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity
• Handled dispute related to claim by pretermitted heir (daughter) for her intestate share

• Handled dispute related to claim by pretermitted spouse for her intestate share
• Dispute regarding interpretation of the Will that had contradictory provisions

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• Addressed matters involving motions to compel production of documents, motion to compel attendance at deposition, motions to quash subpoenas, requests for sanctions