BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Estate Planning

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, June 3, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00

This CLE course will prepare estate planning counsel to litigate challenges to the will or trust documents. Our panelists will discuss the substantive bases for challenging wills and trusts, differing procedural requirements, and handling difficult evidentiary issues.

Faculty

Debby S. Doitch
KJMLAW Partners

Ms. Doitch has since 2009 defended a wide variety of business, employment and real estate disputes; handled family law matters; and represented petitioners, objectors, creditors, and trustees in probate and bankruptcy proceedings. 

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio

Description

Estate planning counsel must be vigilant in developing and honing their litigation practice. Counsel should focus on understanding the complexities involved in proving or defending against challenges to the will or trust document.

Evidence—identifying, collecting, managing, and using evidence to prove or defend against challenges to a will or trust document—is the first and most difficult hurdle for counsel. Given the fact-sensitive nature of these challenges, counsel must be proficient in the use of witnesses, key documents, and experts.

Counsel must also institute preventive techniques that anticipate and deter challenges to the client's estate and trust plans. Our panel will outline their time-tested techniques for the drafting and execution phase of will and trust documents.

Listen as our distinguished panel discusses the most recent case law on will and trust litigation and the complex substantive bases for challenges. You will learn approaches that can either undermine or minimize the potential undoing of will and trust documents.

Outline

I. Substantive bases for will and trust document litigation

A. Undue influence

B. Lack of capacity

C. Fraud

II. Evidentiary challenges

A. Effective use of witnesses

B. Medical records

C. Experts

III. Planning techniques to prevent or mitigate evidentiary and proof issues

IV. Case law trends

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the substantive bases for will and trust litigation?
  • What are best practices to either prove or defend against a challenge to a will or trust?
  • How can counsel effectively use various forms of evidence to their advantage?
  • What proactive techniques can help eliminate or mitigate challenges to clients' estate or trust plans?