- Divorce
- GuardianshipGaslowitz Frankel LLC is Georgia’s premier fiduciary litigation law firm. The firm has earned a reputation for excellence across Georgia and the Southeast providing representation to individuals, executors, trustees, investors, shareholders, and financial institutions in complex fiduciary disputes involving wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, businesses, and securities.
- Fraud"Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation," Update on Georgia Law, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, February 2016.
- Theft
- ForgeryThe administration of a trust is complicated with ample opportunities for conflicts. When there are multiple trustees, it can be impossible to get everyone in agreement about administering trust assets. For example, in the event of ambiguous trust terms, disputes often arise due to a lack of clarity on how to make distributions. Alternatively, a beneficiary may be skeptical about the accuracy of trust accounting or suspect other negligence, like a breach of fiduciary responsibilities, or may be dealing with fundamental incompetence. In more nefarious situations, assets may be missing or misappropriated, or there may be cause to suspect document forgery, self-dealing, or that a beneficiary has unduly influenced a trustee to increase their share. Regardless, only those personally impacted by the outcome can contest a trust, like family members, which is why family trust disputes are so common. Others who have legal standing include disinherited or disadvantaged heirs. These are often family members who would have inherited more if it weren’t for establishing a trust.
- Corporate LawWhile alternative dispute resolution is preferable, it is not always feasible. Parties often become embroiled in corporate litigation because one alleges the other has breached a contract, that an act or omission has caused damage to a business relationship, or that there was a failure to act in the best interest of the company, partnership, or other business venture. Still, this is just scratching the surface, and several parties can become involved in business disputes that require hiring an Atlanta business litigation attorney, like consumers, clients, and even state or federal government entities.
- Business DisputesThe appellate court in which the appeal is filed will depend on the issue involved in the underlying case. Most disputes involving Wills are also filed with the Supreme Court. Appeals in other cases, including many trust and business disputes, may be filed in the Court of Appeals of Georgia. In smaller Georgia counties, judgments of the Probate Court are appealed to that county’s Superior Court.
- Intellectual Property
- Unfair Competition
- Antitrust
- Real Estate LitigationKristen Yadlosky specializes in commercial real estate disputes and creditor rights in bankruptcy. She has extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, including contract disputes, suits on notes and guarantees, protection of creditor rights in bankruptcy, foreclosure confirmations, class actions, intellectual property protection, and competitive activities of former employees.
- Real Estate TransactionsWith over three decades of experience, Kristen has litigated and resolved a wide variety of commercial disputes, including cases arising from real estate transactions, complex litigation, and intellectual property actions, represented creditors in bankruptcy proceedings related to commercial real estate including retail/office leases, SARE, and other protection of creditor interests in real property, and assisted clients in efforts to protect intellectual property, including cease-and-desist correspondence, emergency injunctions, and litigation.
- Land Use and Zoning
- Estate PlanningGives attorneys and parties the space to be creative in how they structure a solution,” says estate litigation attorney Craig Frankel. “You can structure solutions which allow each side to be better off than they would have been, had they gone to trial.”
- Wills“ Will Contests: Wealth Transfer Without Bloodshed, ” Georgia Bar Association/Fiduciary Law Section’s 2004 Annual Fiduciary Law Institute, July 2004.
- TrustsIf a trustee or beneficiary desires that the terms of a trust be modified, he or she must file a petition to modify the trust with the court. When filing the petition, it must be demonstrated that the proposed modification is necessary due to circumstances not anticipated by the grantor, or because continuation of the trust under its current provisions would impair trust administration. Modifications generally require the consent of all beneficiaries, and the court will make every effort to have the modification conform as closely as possible to the intention of the trust grantor.
- Power of AttorneyWhat happens when a loved one can no longer take care of himself or herself? The preferred solution is to meet with elder care lawyers and prepare powers of attorney, trusts, healthcare directives, and other planning documents that transition decision-making away from the disabled adult toward a trusted loved one or advisor. Unfortunately, not all of our aging adults complete this process in time or there are mistakes in the planning. In those events, the only solution may be to involve the court system.
- Probate
- Bankruptcy
- Foreclosure
- Tax LawVariable and equity indexed annuities are often pitched to investors through investment seminars promising estate planning, retirement planning, or tax planning. Rarely do these sales presentations reveal the substantial surrender penalties, fees and unfavorable tax treatment for annuity withdrawals and distributions. In most cases, these investments are suitable for those who are prepared to lock up their money for a substantial amount of time and have used all tax deferral options available to them.
- Debt Collection