Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Brother contested trust.

This is a good question, one of the more difficult ones I have seen on LawGuru. I assume the rest of your question is whether or not the other brother falls under the no contest clause by challenging its validity during your Mother's life.

A quick review of relevant case law and statutes did not provide any definitive answer to your question. As such it will most likely be a question decided by the court system. Due to this fact, there are several factors which affect the outcome to this question, of which we need more information to give you a complete answer. Such information includes: how the EXACT wording of the no-contest clause is stated; the exact argument your brother made against the validity of the trust and the grounds for which he filed the unlawful detainer action in the first place; the ruling of the judge in the unlawful detainer action; and a couple of other factors dealing with very fact specific issues. Furthermore, even with all of the previous mentioned information falling in your favor, it would still rest on what standards the judge uses to interpret the no contest clause. Generally, in California, such clauses are held to a strict interpretation which would fall in your favor.

This is most likely, if challenged by your brother, going to be a costly and drawn out legal battle. I would definitely weigh whether it is worth the trouble, family strife (looks like this is already present) and expenses to enforce the no-contest clause. If there is a sizable amount in the trust, and you desire to enforce the clause against your brother, I would definitely speak to an attorney about this. You need someone that can handle both trust administration and probate litigation. If you are within our region (Sacramento area) feel free to give us a call. Regardless, you should probably speak to a couple of attorneys before deciding, since this case is potentially complicated.