Ancillary Lawsuits

Spencer, Johnson & Harvell, PLLC handles all litigation relating to estates, guardianships, and trusts disputes and contests

Nearly two decades of providing effective solutions for complex estate litigation, trust litigation, guardianship and fiduciary litigation matters in Dallas, has made Spencer, Johnson & Harvell, PLLC, an admired law firm in Dallas-Fort Worth. Our extensive experience with estate and trust litigation has primed our team of lawyers to handle all types of litigation, particularly litigation that relates to estates, trusts and guardianships.

From common law spouse issues to wrongful death and survivorship claims — we recognize the sensitive legal obstacles you face, and we can help you overcome them in a cost-effective manner.

*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

Serving Clients in Dallas, Texas, and Throughout the State

AV-rated* attorney and founder R. Kevin Spencer, along with his associates, all of whom are Texas probate litigation attorneys, work together as a team to provide our clients with more than 30 years of practicing in the area of estate litigation and trust litigation. We strive to provide the effort required to obtain good results. We can assist with and are ready to help you with all of your ancillary probate litigation needs, such as:

Common law spouses case

A lawsuit to declare, post-death, that the decedent and another person were informally married on the date of death. If you have evidence of the basic facts of a marriage, i.e., that you lived together, had an agreement to be married and held yourselves out to others as being husband and wife, you can assert a claim of marriage to establish your right to inherit from decedent.

Contest to survivorship accounts

A lawsuit to declare that a survivorship account (usually a joint account with right of survivorship) or a “POD” (pay on death) account is invalid because the person who signed it lacked the mental capacity to do so or was unduly influenced when signed, or that it was forged or the product of fraud.

Contest to insurance beneficiary forms

A lawsuit to declare that a beneficiary designation form is invalid and not enforceable because the person that signed it lacked the mental capacity to do so or was unduly influenced when signed or that it was forged or the product of fraud.

Adoption by estoppel

A lawsuit to declare the inheritance rights of a child who was essentially raised by a decedent, who the decedent held out as being his or her child and who was treated by the decedent as his or her child. The law does not allow a family to deny such a child his or her inheritance rights in such a situation.

Pretermitted child rights

A lawsuit to declare the inheritance rights of a child who is born after the date of a will and is not otherwise provided for by the decedent.

Survivorship claims

A lawsuit by a deceased person’s estate asserting the pain and suffering of a decedent based upon the injury that caused the death, usually from an accident.

Wrongful death

A wrongful death lawsuit by a surviving relative or dependent of a decedent who has been damaged by the loss of the relationship to the person who dies by accident and injury.

Creditor’s claims

Filing creditor’s claims against an estate seeking repayment of money by the estate; lawsuits of creditors against a decedent’s estate.

The list above is not intended to be exclusive but contains examples of some of the types of cases we have handled in the past in probate courts. The types of cases that end up in probate court are as vast and endless as the imagination of a creative lawyer, as long as jurisdiction attaches based upon an estate, guardianship or trust.

We urge you to contact Spencer, Johnson & Harvell, PLLC, regarding your estate and probate issues. We always make a concerted effort to resolve issues outside of court, whether through negotiation or a family settlement agreement, but we are also ready to see a case through a trial, to a judge or jury, or up through the appellate process to the Supreme Court of Texas. Contact our attorneys today, and we will not hesitate to go to trial if an amicable resolution cannot be reached.

Ancillary Lawsuits

Serving Clients in Dallas, Texas, and Throughout the State

Dallas Probate Attorneys

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