By Roger J. Buffington, Esq.
When a trust litigation case is underway it is notorious in California that it may take quite a while for the Court to get around to actually having a trial in which the Court decides all of the issues in the case. Court dockets are backlogged in most counties in the State. Sometimes this is problematic, given that the harms that motivated the petitioner to bring the case may be immediate and serious. For example, the case may involve dissipation of the trust assets by the trustee, ongoing misuse or damage to trust assets, or many other things that can constitute pretty immediate harm. Sometimes waiting for trial is not a satisfactory solution or is at best a very sub-optimal one. Buffington Law Firm’s trust litigation attorneys often deal with cases that present such situations. These cases require more immediate action and relief than simply preparing for trial, as important as that will be.
Fortunately, California law, when properly applied, provides the probate trial court with broad powers to deal with these situations even before trial. Put simply, in a probate trust petition the trial judge has much greater powers to intervene in the situation than does, by contrast, the trial judge in an ordinary civil case such as a breach of contract business dispute, for example. In civil suits of that type, the judge normally does not expect to intervene in relations between the parties until trial takes place, other than to move the case along towards trial. The main exception, of course, is the availability of injunctive relief, i.e. a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. While a detailed discussion of injunctive relief is beyond the scope of this blog article, suffice to say that the kinds of relief available by injunction is extremely limited, and most times aimed at “preserving the status quo.” In civil cases outside of probate, the Courts are strongly oriented towards not intervening in the fundamental issues between the parties before the trial and will usually limit any interlocutory (before trial) orders to simply preserving the status quo. In trust litigation, it is often the case that the status quo is precisely what the petitioner does not want to see preserved and positive action and change by the Court must be sought long before trial. This is a fundamental difference between general civil disputes and trust disputes not often appreciated by some courts.
Unlike ordinary civil litigation, in trust litigation the trial court has broad powers to provide immediate relief beyond “preserving the status quo.” This is codified in California Probate Code Section 17206 which provides: The court in its discretion may make any orders and take any other action necessary or proper to dispose of the matters presented by the petition, including appointment of a temporary trustee to administer the trust in whole or in part. [California Probate Code Section 17206]. The broad nature of the probate court’s power is further amplified by case precedents. [e.g. Schwartz v. Labow [(2008) 164 Cal. App. 4th 417, 427 (citing Cal. Probate Code Section 17206 and holding that the Probate Court has the power to decide all incidental issues of trust administration)]. California law provides and contemplates that the probate judge may issue orders on a before-trial basis of many kinds aimed at achieving “efficient trust administration” and “the protection of the trust and its beneficiaries.” Such orders can easily go far beyond “preserving the status quo.”
While trust litigation has been around for quite a while, it is nonetheless true that trial courts often are unclear as to the actual extent of their powers. Probate judges, and the staff research attorneys who support them, are sometimes relatively new to this area of law and flat-out do not understand the broad powers that California law outright expects the court to exert when presented by the appropriate circumstance. Some trial courts believe that their powers are constrained in the same manner as in general civil litigation, i.e. injunctive relief. In such situations, to get the court to apply its powers and correct immediate wrongful situations often requires skilled and patient legal advocacy. Candidly, this is one of the most challenging aspects of trust litigation at the present time.
If you are contemplating or involved in a trust dispute of any kind, Buffington Law Firm invites you to contact us for a free legal consultation. All consultations are with an actual experienced trust litigation attorney, are protected by Attorney-Client Privilege, and there is never any charge or obligation. Contact us today!