PTEL Presents: “A Litigator’s Perspective”
PTEL is pleased to share that firm principal David Parnall recently delivered a presentation for the California Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), entitled “A Litigator’s Perspective.” It was an insightful look at estate planning and administration from the perspective of someone who sees, on a daily basis, what happens when things go wrong.
The presentation explored the most common sources of estate litigation, including lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, and fiduciaries’ failures to follow the estate plans they are administering. Drawing on California statutory law and case authority, Dave walked through the legal standards courts apply in each of these areas, and the practical lessons estate planning attorneys can take away to protect their clients and their work product from later challenges.
The session closed with a series of candid observations for practitioners: the dangers of over-complexity, the outsized consequences of even minor planning missteps, the importance of presuming clients’ incomplete understanding of terminology or process, and the value of saying the quiet part out loud — before a litigator does it for you.