PROBATE APPEALS
In the probate court, it is unlikely that every party will be satisfied with the outcome of a case. However, while it is rare, if you believe a mistake was made during the court proceedings that led to an imbalanced or incorrect ruling, requesting an appellate court to review the decision may be an option that’s available to you.
If you act promptly and have an attorney with substantial appellate court experience by your side, you may be able to successfully appeal a probate court decision.
Definition
What Is a Probate Appeal?
A probate appeal asks the appellate court to review the lower court’s final decision on a probate matter.
Simply disagreeing with the court’s decision is not a basis for a probate appeal. Generally, to have grounds for an appeal, you must be able to show from the record before the probate court that the probate judge made a mistake in interpreting or applying the law, committed an error in deciding what evidence could or could not be considered, or had no basis from the facts before it to support the decision made.
To enable them to effectively carry out their duties, fiduciaries generally are granted a great deal of power; however, with power comes the potential for abuse. The sad reality is that many fiduciaries improperly use their power for personal gain or other unethical reasons instead of using it to make decisions that benefit the persons they represent. When they breach their duties in this way, it is considered fiduciary misconduct.
Luckily, if fiduciary misconduct is discovered early, legal actions can be taken to reverse the damage the fiduciary caused. By working with Kane Ferguson’s skilled fiduciary misconduct attorneys, you can devise a strategy to achieve your litigation goals, which may include forcing the fiduciary to comply with your requests, removing and replacing the fiduciary and/or surcharging them for any damage they caused.
Simply disagreeing with the court’s decision is not a basis for a probate appeal. Generally, to have grounds for an appeal, you must be able to show from the record before the probate court that the probate judge made a mistake in interpreting or applying the law, committed an error in deciding what evidence could or could not be considered, or had no basis from the facts before it to support the decision made.
To enable them to effectively carry out their duties, fiduciaries generally are granted a great deal of power; however, with power comes the potential for abuse. The sad reality is that many fiduciaries improperly use their power for personal gain or other unethical reasons instead of using it to make decisions that benefit the persons they represent. When they breach their duties in this way, it is considered fiduciary misconduct.
Luckily, if fiduciary misconduct is discovered early, legal actions can be taken to reverse the damage the fiduciary caused. By working with Kane Ferguson’s skilled fiduciary misconduct attorneys, you can devise a strategy to achieve your litigation goals, which may include forcing the fiduciary to comply with your requests, removing and replacing the fiduciary and/or surcharging them for any damage they caused.
While it is necessary to demonstrate error to be successful in your appeal of a probate court decision, that is not enough to have a solid chance at winning an appeal in probate court. You also have to prove that the alleged error was prejudicial, meaning that it affected the outcome of the case. To determine this, ask yourself: If the error hadn’t been made, would the court’s decision have been different? If the answer is yes, then you probably have grounds to launch a probate appeal. If the answer is no, the appellate court will likely deny your appeal.
Kane Ferguson’s team of probate appeal attorneys can review the facts of your case with you to determine what your chances are of successfully appealing a probate decision. They possess the expertise to guide you through the complex probate appeals process.
Kane Ferguson’s team of probate appeal attorneys can review the facts of your case with you to determine what your chances are of successfully appealing a probate decision. They possess the expertise to guide you through the complex probate appeals process.
What We Do
Why Would You Need a Probate Appeal Attorney?
In your initial probate case, did you offer evidence that the court, in error, refused to consider? Did the court incorrectly interpret the law? Did the court’s error change the outcome of the case? Do you believe that the probate court lacked sufficient evidence to support its decision?
It is important to note that a probate appeal is not a new trial; it just provides an opportunity for a higher court to review a lower court’s decision to determine whether the court had made mistakes during the trial.
If you believe your probate case was negatively impacted by a court error, a Kane Ferguson probate appeals lawyer can help you file an appeal to try to overturn the original decision.
It is important to note that a probate appeal is not a new trial; it just provides an opportunity for a higher court to review a lower court’s decision to determine whether the court had made mistakes during the trial.
If you believe your probate case was negatively impacted by a court error, a Kane Ferguson probate appeals lawyer can help you file an appeal to try to overturn the original decision.
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