Attorney Mark D. Perryman Forces Defendants to Face Charges in California Court

San Diego, CA (Law Firm Newswire) March 20, 2015 – A partner at the California trusts, estates, and probate law firm of Albertson & Davidson, LLP has survived the first hurdle in a contentious case involving serious claims of undue influence and financial elder abuse.

In the case, Mark D. Perryman is representing a plaintiff who claims that her sister and brother-in-law (the defendants) have taken advantage of their mother in order to gain complete control of their mother’s finances, use the money for personal gain, and try to exclude the plaintiff from receiving financial benefits of the family trust.

The plaintiff was the co-trustee of the family trust along with her mother for nearly two years after the creation of the trust and the death of her father. However, her mother later removed her as co-trustee and instead named the plaintiff’s sister as co-trustee. Plaintiff claims that her mother’s mental health is declining, that her mother is therefore in a vulnerable state, and that defendants are exercising undue influence over the mother for financial purposes.

In addition to changing trustees, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants have done the following:

· Moved her mother from California to Washington into a home next door to theirs, to isolate her for control purposes.
· Convinced her mother to name them as joint owners of her bank accounts, from which they draw funds for personal use.
· Collect the rental income from their mother’s California home and use it for their own personal benefits.
· Convinced their mother to change the deed to her Washington home to add them as joint owners.
· Convinced their mother to change the title and registration of her car to add them as joint owners.

Plaintiff alleges that the defendants have unduly influenced and committed financial elder abuse against her mother in an attempt to gain complete control of her finances and minimize the assets plaintiff would receive through the family trust.

The defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the case based on both procedural and substantive arguments, however the Probate Court for the County of San Diego recently denied the Motion to Dismiss, allowing the plaintiff’s claims to move forward.

The Law Firm of Albertson & Davidson, LLP is a California trust, estate, and probate planning and litigation law firm that maintains offices in the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco Bay areas. Over the past six years, the firm has recovered in excess of over 8 figures in verdicts and settlements and settlements on behalf of its clients and represents clients throughout the state of California.

Among the legal matters that Albertson & Davidson, LLP handles on a regular basis include contested wills and trusts, abused beneficiary litigation, financial elder abuse, wrongful death cases, trustee surcharge litigation, trust accounting matters, estate planning, trust administration, and issues related to probate. To contact the firm, call their office at 909.466.1711.

Albertson & Davidson, LLP
3491 Concours, Ste 201
Ontario, California 91764
Phone: 909.466.1711
Fax: 909.354.3460