Experienced Estate & Trust Litigation Attorneys

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Articles and Presentations

– A Litigator’s Snapshot: Perspective on Probate, Guardianship and Trust Disputes

– Will Contests: What Estate Planners Can Expect When It Happens

Resolving Will, Trust and Estate Contests

  • April 11, 2012 – NBI
  • Presented by Rodney J. Mason and Alan I. Silver

§ Contest Grounds
§ Pursuing and Defending Claims Against Fiduciaries
§ Procedure
§ Ethical Considerations
§ Gathering the Evidence
§ Litigation Forms
§ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Ethical Considerations

  • June 2011 NBI Seminar
  • Presented by Rodney J. Mason
  • Prepared by Rodney J. Mason

§ Who Is Your Client?
§ Confidentiality in Third-Party Communications
§ Assessing The Client’s Capacity
§ Avoiding Fraudulent Transfers

Attorney-Client Privilege in Estate Planning

  • Sept. 13, 2012 Ramsey County Bar Association, Estates and Trusts Section
  • By Rodney J. Mason and Alan I. Silver
  • Includes article prepared by Rodney J. Mason

§ Privilege, confidentiality, testamentary exception, implied authority

Ethical Considerations for the Lawyer Who Is Providing Legal Services to Settlors, Trustees and Beneficiaries of Trusts

  • Oct. 19, 2011 – Ramsey County Bar Association, Probate Litigation Issues
  • Presented by Rodney J. Mason and John P. Worrell
  • Prepared by Rodney J. Mason

§ Privilege, multiple representation, testamentary exception

Primer for Attorney-Client Communications During the Course of Estate Planning

  • Newsletter
  • Prepared by Rodney J. Mason and Robert A. McLeod

§ Attorney Duties, Third Parties, Dual Representation
§ The Testamentary Exception
§ Confidentiality, Implied Authority and Waiver
§ Who Controls the File
§ Role of Attorney for Protected Person
§ Diminished Capacity

Addressing Complex Probate Issues, Establishing Ethical Best Practices and Preparing for Challenging Litigation Issues (plus PowerPoint)

  • August 2012 NBI Seminar: Trust Administration: Preventing and Litigating Fiduciary Liability
  • Prepared by Rodney J. Mason; presented by Rodney J. Mason

§ Continuation of Decedent’s business
§ Simultaneous Death
§ Partition
§ Ancillary Administration
§ Minor and Incompetent Beneficiaries
§ Conflicts of Interest, Confidentiality, Attorney Fees
§ Probate Jurisdiction
§ Appointment and Removal of Fiduciary
§ Wrongful Death and PI Actions
§ Concealment of Assets and Fraud

Fiduciary Protection and Controversy Avoidance (plus PowerPoint)

  • Sept. 26, 2012 Minn. CLE: “Transfers, Settling & Managing the Non-Probate Estate”
  • Prepared by Julia O’Brien, presented by Rodney J. Mason and Julia A. O’Brien

§ Fiduciary Role, Powers, Obligations, Duties
§ Potential Areas of Litigation and Dispute
§ Fraudulent Transfers and Creditors’ Claims
§ Liability and Removal of Fiduciary
§ Attorney-Client Privilege
§ Fiduciary Exception

Creditors’ Claims and Duties of the PR in the Probate Process

  • July 24, 2012 – MINNESOTA PROBATE PRACTICE – From A to Z and Everything in Between! (Creditors’ Claims)
  • Prepared by Rodney J. Mason; presented by Rodney J. Mason
  • Drafted by Rodney J. Mason

§ Creditors’ claims, presentation, exempt assets, priority, liability of PR