Cost: $50 PFAC Member – $70 Non-Member
Speaker: Robert Barton, Hon. Judge David Cowan, Esq., and Vivian L. Thoreen, Esq.
CEU Awarded: 1.0 CE/MCLE Trust
Presented Date: 05/03/2019
About the Course
When financial and healthcare decisions lead to conflict between and among elderly parents and their children, the decision to initiate ligation is often fraught with risk. Fractured families, costly attorneys’ fees, ethical considerations and the potential for a disinherited litigant must be weighed against the potential benefits of initiating litigation during a parent’s lifetime, particularly in elder abuse situations, where the capacity of an aging parent is in question, or where post-death litigation is inevitable. This session will examine common scenarios triggering pre-death litigation, the propriety of doing so, risks and benefits of initiating a pre-death contest, and the role of the professional fiduciary in such litigation.
Robert Barton, Esq.
Robert Barton is an attorney in the Private Wealth Services Group and focuses on complex trust and estate litigation, trust and estate administration as well as conservatorship and guardianship matters for individuals, families and charities.
In addition to representing trustees, executors and beneficiaries in administration matters, Mr. Barton also handles breach of fiduciary duty and elder abuse matters, will and trust disputes, and contested conservatorships and guardianships in federal, state, and tribal courts throughout the country.
Hon. Judge David Cowan
Judge Cowan is the Presiding Judge of the Probate Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Vivian L. Thoreen, Esq.
Vivian Lee Thoreen is the executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Los Angeles office and chairs the firm’s national Private Wealth Services Dispute Resolution Team. She is a litigator and experienced trial attorney whose practice – both in Superior Court and in the California Courts of Appeal – focuses on complex trust, estate, conservatorship and guardianship matters. She represents individuals, families, charities and financial institutions in cases including will and trust disputes, contested conservatorships and guardianships, breach of fiduciary duty matters, and elder abuse matters. Ms. Thoreen’s experience includes some of the most sensitive and high-profile cases in her field. Whether the matters can be resolved by mediation or require trial, Ms. Thoreen’s clients benefit from her deep personal commitment and nuanced grasp of law and often byzantine facts.