Estate & Probate Litigation
Resolve disputes around inheritance, administration, and fiduciary responsibility.
Disputes require a different kind of counsel: strategic, direct, and prepared to resolve the matter efficiently or advocate in court when necessary.
Protect your position when documents, obligations, or interests are disputed.
Not every estate is administered smoothly. When disputes arise over wills, trusts, fiduciaries, inheritance, or the handling of assets, clear strategy and timely legal action can be critical.
The people on the other side of an estate dispute are usually family. That shapes how these matters are best resolved.
When an estate becomes a dispute.
Estate litigation divides into challenges to a document and challenges to a fiduciary. These are the matters we bring and defend.
Will Contests
Challenge or defend wills involving capacity, undue influence, fraud, forgery, or execution issues.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Address claims involving executors, trustees, and other fiduciaries.
Trust Disputes
Represent clients in disputes over interpretation, administration, or distribution.
Kinship Claims
Address questions regarding heirs and family relationships.
Asset Distribution Disputes
Resolve conflicts involving allocation or transfer of estate property.
Accounting Discrepancies
Challenge or defend fiduciary accountings and financial administration.
Executor or Trustee Removal
Pursue or defend removal when fiduciary conduct is disputed.
A dispute over an estate is rarely just about money.
Estate litigation often combines legal standards with family history, fiduciary conduct, document interpretation, and questions about what a decedent truly intended.
Preserving the position, then pressing it.
Assess the Dispute
Review the will, trust, accounting, fiduciary conduct, and relevant family facts.
Preserve the Position
Identify deadlines, court filings, objections, and evidence that may require prompt action.
Evaluate Resolution Paths
Consider negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or court proceedings where appropriate.
Litigate Strategically
Develop the factual and legal record needed to advance or defend the claim.
Drive Toward Resolution
Pursue a negotiated or judicial outcome consistent with the client's position.
Contesting, defending, and what it takes.
What are common grounds for contesting a will in New York?
A will may be challenged on the grounds that the person lacked mental capacity, signed under duress or undue influence, that fraud or forgery was involved, or that it was not executed properly under New York law.
What is breach of fiduciary duty in an estate?
It can involve unfair distribution, unauthorized transfers, failure to pay obligations, withholding information, conflicts of interest, or self-dealing.
Can an executor or trustee be removed?
Removal may be sought in appropriate circumstances where fiduciary conduct or fitness is at issue.
Do estate disputes always go to trial?
No. Depending on the matter, resolution may involve negotiation, mediation, arbitration, Surrogate's Court proceedings, or trial.
Legal issues rarely exist in isolation.
Christopher W. Zeh, Esq.
Principal Attorney
Chris founded the firm in 2013 and leads its trust and estate practice, handling estate and probate litigation when a plan is contested.
Read biographyRichard Blass · Client“I’ve known Chris for over a decade and have worked with him on my own estate planning on multiple occasions. Chris has an exceptional ability to explain and simplify complex trusts and estate planning concepts.”
Clarity starts with understanding the situation.
Speak with Zeh & Associates about the facts, the decisions in front of you, and the legal path that may make sense from here.