Jessica Forrest and Brittany Kaczmarczyk earned a unanimous jury verdict and an award of $110,000, plus attorney fees, on behalf of their clients—four beneficiaries of a trust who learned their trustee had hired her husband as a “consultant” to the trust. We sued for breach of fiduciary duty and related claims.

While an early settlement was an option, the Defendants instead opted for an aggressive litigation approach, involving excessive discovery and threats to use the trust’s no-contest clause to disinherit beneficiaries simply for seeking clarity on trust expenses ... Read More ›

In our new e-book, Overcoming Disinheritance: Decoding the Estate Plan to Find a Path Forward, Adam Fried reviews the anatomy of an estate plan to help you estimate the value of an estate and examine how inheritances can be diverted by bad actors. 

Res judicata, literally meaning "a matter [already] judged," is a prudential doctrine that is meant to ensure the finality of judgments and conserve judicial resources by protecting litigants from multiple litigation involving the same claims or issues. When one court has already resolved the merits of a case, another court will not revisit them.

Recently, Reminger attorneys Russell J. Meraglio, Jr. Franklin C. Malemud, and Timothy J. Gallagher represented an attorney who was appointed by the Cuyahoga County Probate Court to serve as successor trustee over a trust.  The removed ... Read More ›

Inheritance disputes are often motivated by principle and emotion. No matter how right a claimant thinks they are, the style and approach to their case may create financial risk in paying another’s attorney fees and/or depleting any inheritance the claimant otherwise would receive.  Choosing the right attorney will help you navigate this risk.

Inheritance claim litigation often involve claims to invalidate documents or transactions through declaratory judgment claims as well as the pursuit of breach of fiduciary duty claims.  Ohio follows the American rule which generally ... Read More ›

Ohio Probate Courts are uniquely familiar with issues facing Trustees.  That is why many Trust disputes are filed in, or transferred to, the Probate Court for resolution. However, some litigants try to avoid probate courts in trust disputes because of perceived advantages or differing rules in other forums. Reminger is familiar with these tactics and knows how to defend against them.

Recently, Reminger received a ruling in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, on behalf of the Trustee client, which halted trust litigation attempted ... Read More ›

On September 29, 2020, the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed a trust-arbitration award in Hughes v. Hughes, 2020-Ohio-4653.

This is one of the first, if not the first, trust arbitration cases to make its way through Ohio Courts. The Ohio legislature recognized arbitration  as an option for trust dispute resolution with the March 2019 enactment of Ohio Revised Code Section 5802.05.  Here, the parties commenced arbitration in July 2018, and the arbitration hearing took place in October 2018. The Arbitrator issued his decision that same month, and the award was carried out by ... Read More ›

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has substantially disrupted our way of life. The attorneys in Reminger’s probate and trust litigation group are no different than anyone else, in that regard, and we sincerely appreciate your patience during these trying times. We hope that you are staying safe and we look forward to assisting you in person once again. Read More ›

Adam M. Fried, Co-Chair of Reminger's Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation Practice Group, has been recognized by Ohio Super Lawyers Magazine in more ways than one this year.  Not only has Adam been listed once again as a Super Lawyer in their 2020 issue, Adam has also attained special recognition as "Top 50 Cleveland" and "Top 100 Ohio."  He also was profiled by the magazine in the article entitled "Don't Bother Looking for Hiccups in Adam Fried's Trial Prep."Read More ›

A primary factor many consider when looking to hire an attorney to pursue a Trust dispute is the cost of representation (i.e. attorney fees and out of pocket litigation expenses).  In deciding whether to hire an attorney, prospective clients almost always ask: “If I win, can I get my attorney fees paid?” Under Ohio law, the short answer is often “no”. However, a recent case interpreting a statute enacted in 2007 will help Trust beneficiaries recover attorney fees and litigation expenses in a Trust dispute.Read More ›

One advantage of using a trust for estate planning is privacy. The probate process is generally all a matter of public record for any inquiring mind. Trusts, though intended to be more private, can become public when disputes arise that pull the administration into court. But a new Ohio law is changing that.Read More ›

“Keep in mind – beneficiaries are like cats and they will bite you for no good reason.”[1]  Serving as the trustee of a trust can be challenging because a trustee’s administrative responsibilities are, at times, layered with complicated family or beneficiary dynamics.  While there is no way to guarantee a problem-free administration or termination of trust, Ohio law provides a method to expedite the process to complete distribution while providing protections for the trustee against future claims of the beneficiaries.Read More ›

Adam M. Fried recently presented at The Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Seminar, sponsored by the Ohio State Bar Association's Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Section. More than 250 attorneys from across the state of Ohio attended the full-day Continuing Legal Education course.Read More ›

Paul Shugar will be presenting "Don't Text and Unduly Influence: An Overview of How to Use Electronic Discovery in Probate Litigation" at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section Meeting and CLE, held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.  Read More ›

Adam M. Fried and Franklin C. Malemud have been invited to participate on a panel for an upcoming CLE webinar hosted by Strafford. Entitled "Trust and Probate Challenges: Minimizing and Litigating Claims of Undue Influence, Fraud, Capacity and Mistakes," this webinar will be held on Thursday, January 18th from 1 pm-2:30 pm EST. The format will offer an interactive Q&A session as well.Read More ›

Trustees Under Attack Through the Erosion of the Attorney Client Privilege: Recent Case Law Development and the Fiduciary Exception to the Attorney Client Privilege  

Ohio State Bar Association "Quick Webcast" Program

December 13, 1:00 PM EST

1.0 CLE hour / 1.0 Professional Conduct hour 

The attorney client relationship between trustees, executors and their attorneys can be complicated. The relationship is more complex when disputes develop and claims are raised against the fiduciary. From the pitfalls of conflicts of interests as identified in Cincinnati Bar Association v. Robertson to the question as to whom the attorney owes a duty when representing a fiduciary who, in turn, owes duties to the beneficiaries will be discussed in this one-hour program.Read More ›

Reminger Co., LPA is proud to have served as a sponsor for the Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Seminar, held in conjunction with the Ohio State Bar Association in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, September 15, 2017.Read More ›

Can a disinherited person force the production of information necessary to substantiate the efforts required to pursue a challenge to a Will, beneficiary designation, or Trust?

Isolation and manipulation of a loved one by those who are intent on deriving benefits from an estate are frequent realities in estate litigation cases.  Undue influence, the process by which a person’s mind is subjugated so that the decision-making is actually that of the perpetrator, is almost always done behind closed doors.  The byproduct of isolation and conduct perpetrated in the dark is lack of information.  Family members are left with only questions and no answers.Read More ›

The loss of a loved one is a devastating event, and can be a chaotic and confusing time for those left mourning. The making of phone calls to family and friends, the preparation of funeral arrangements, and the handling of other post-death matters must be addressed. But what do family members do when they find out that something suspicious has happened with their loved one’s last will and testament?Read More ›

Ten years after the first enactment of the Ohio Trust Code, in Zook, et al. v. JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association, et al., 10^th Dist. No. 15AP-751, 2017-Ohio-838, the Tenth District Ohio Court of Appeals gave insight into protections under the Ohio Trust Code afforded trustees against beneficiary claims and a provided a roadmap for a beneficiary to challenge such protection.Read More ›

Following up on the recent blog post on basic principles of trust reporting, the Fifth District Court of Appeals released a timely analysis involving a trustee’s failure to account and an award of attorney fees against the trustee for their breach of duty in McHenry v. McHenry, (5^th Dist.), 2017-Ohio 1534.  The decision, originating out of the Stark County Probate Court is significant for two reasons:  (1) it provides a thorough analysis of a trustee’s duty to account even in the face of trust language relieving the trustee of his duty to account; and (2) the court awarded attorney fees in excess of the value of the compensatory damages, pursuant to its authority under R.C. 5810.04.Read More ›

You are a trust beneficiary. 

You have no idea what is in the trust, what has been spent out of the trust, and what will be spent out of the trust. 

Must the trustee open his books to you? What rights do you have to receive this information? Read More ›

Great wealth, in the trillions of dollars, will be transferred from one generation to the next as our population ages.  While most estates proceed as intended, there will always be greed and dysfunction among a small percentage of American families; so much so, that business for attorneys skilled in the pursuit or defense of estate disputes will be plentiful, as the number of disputes centered on challenges over the rights to a decedent’s assets will explode in the years to come. Read More ›