Trust & Estate Litigation Attorneys | King & Jones

Few legal disputes are as personal — or as financially significant — as those involving a trust or estate. These cases sit at the intersection of family, money, and legacy, and they often arise at moments when emotions are already raw. A trustee enriching themselves at the expense of the beneficiaries they were appointed to serve. A family member who used their position of influence to rewrite an estate plan in their favor. An executor who has been mismanaging assets for years while beneficiaries were kept in the dark.

At King & Jones, we represent beneficiaries, trustees, executors, and family members in complex trust and estate litigation throughout Illinois and across the United States. Our trial attorneys bring decades of experience to these disputes — combining deep knowledge of fiduciary law with the courtroom skill and investigative capability that high-stakes estate litigation demands. We are strategic, discreet, and relentless in protecting our clients’ financial interests and the integrity of the plans their loved ones made.

Types of Trust and Estate Disputes We Handle

King & Jones represents clients across the full spectrum of trust and estate litigation, including:

Will and trust contests — Challenges to the validity of a will or trust based on lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, improper execution, or the existence of a prior instrument that better reflects the decedent’s true intent
Undue influence and incapacity claims — Cases where a vulnerable person was manipulated — by a family member, caregiver, advisor, or other trusted individual — into changing their estate plan in ways that did not reflect their own wishes
Breach of fiduciary duty by trustees, executors, and guardians — Claims against fiduciaries who have mismanaged assets, made self-interested decisions, failed to account properly, or otherwise violated the duties they owe to beneficiaries
Fiduciary accounting disputes — Challenges to the accuracy or completeness of accountings provided by trustees or executors, including efforts to compel accountings that have been withheld
Disputes involving family businesses and complex assets — Litigation over how closely-held businesses, real estate, investment portfolios, and other illiquid or difficult-to-value assets should be managed and distributed within an estate or trust
Removal of fiduciaries and recovery of misappropriated assets — Proceedings to remove a trustee, executor, or guardian who is not fulfilling their obligations, and to recover assets that have been improperly diverted or mismanaged

Disputes Involving Family Businesses and Complex Assets

When a trust or estate includes a closely-held business, real estate holdings, or other complex assets, the litigation becomes significantly more demanding. Valuation is contested. Management decisions made by the executor or trustee are scrutinized. Beneficiaries with different financial interests — some who want liquidity, others who want to preserve the business — may find themselves in conflict over how the assets should be handled.

King & Jones has extensive experience litigating disputes that involve business interests within estates and trusts. We work with experienced valuation experts, forensic accountants, and business advisors to ensure our clients’ interests are accurately represented — and we understand both the legal and commercial dimensions of these disputes in ways that firms without a deep commercial litigation practice often do not.

Representing All Parties in Trust and Estate Disputes

Trust and estate litigation does not always pit an obvious wrongdoer against an obvious victim. Trustees acting in good faith can face claims from dissatisfied beneficiaries. Executors managing complex estates under difficult circumstances can be accused of mismanagement. Adult children can find themselves on opposite sides of a will contest, each convinced they know what their parent truly wanted.

For beneficiaries, we pursue the full range of available claims — challenging invalid instruments, enforcing accounting obligations, seeking removal of fiduciaries who are not serving their beneficiaries’ interests, and recovering assets that have been misappropriated or mismanaged.

For trustees, executors, and guardians, we provide experienced defense against claims that overstate the facts, misapply the legal standard, or reflect a beneficiary’s disappointment more than any genuine breach of fiduciary duty.

We approach every matter with discretion. These disputes involve families, and we understand that how a case is handled — not just how it ends — matters to our clients.

Remedies Available in Trust and Estate Litigation

Depending on the nature of the dispute and the conduct involved, available remedies may include:

Invalidation of a will or trust — Setting aside an instrument that was the product of undue influence, fraud, incapacity, or improper execution
Surcharge — Holding a trustee or executor personally liable for financial losses caused by their mismanagement or breach of duty
Removal of a fiduciary — Court-ordered removal of a trustee, executor, or guardian who is not fulfilling their legal obligations
Accounting and disgorgement — Compelling a fiduciary to account for assets under their control and return amounts improperly taken or misapplied
Constructive trust — A remedy that treats improperly obtained assets as held in trust for the rightful beneficiary
Damages — Recovery of financial losses caused by fiduciary misconduct, including lost investment returns and the cost of mismanagement
Punitive damages — Available in cases involving fraud or intentional misconduct by a fiduciary

A trust or estate dispute is never just about money — it is about honoring what someone worked a lifetime to build and the people they intended to protect. If that intent has been compromised, contact King & Jones.

More information on trust and estate disputes