Graden R. Tapley

Some of Mr. Tapley’s Recent Cases

Represented a surviving spouse against a lawsuit by her husband’s children to get half of her family inheritance.

Represented the wife after her second husband arranged for her to unknowingly give half of her family inheritance to his son from a previous marriage. The husband did this with the understanding that he was about to die and that the wife disliked his son. When the wife found out what had happened, she filed for divorce. Before the divorce was final the husband died, the husband’s son then shamelessly sued the wife to enforce the “gift.” The wife’s neurologist testified that the wife lacked the capacity to give away her inheritance. The attorney who prepared the documents was retained by the husband. She never asked the wife if she wanted to give away her family inheritance. The wife suffered from moderate dementia and trusted that the husband and the attorney were looking out for her best interest. A favorable settlement was obtained, leaving the wife with enough funds to afford a nursing home until she died.

Defended a trustee in a lawsuit alleging that a trust amendment was invalid due to undue influence and lack of mental capacity.

A prestigious Sonoma County grape-grower was sued in his capacity as beneficiary and successor trustee by his sister. She alleged undue influence and lack of capacity after the mother amended her trust and largely disinherited her. The mother’s estate planning attorney testified that the mother had the mental capacity to amend her trust. The trustee received a smaller share of the estate in the trust amendment than the original trust so the argument for undue influence was weak. The daughter was defeated in her attempt to put a financial stranglehold on the trustee. She sought an order that the trustee was not allowed to use trust assets to defend the trust. The trustee’s brother was also defeated when he tried to have the trustee removed from office. After five years of litigation, the trust was settled and distributed.

Defended a trustee against a claim of breach of fiduciary duty

Defended a successor trustee after a disinherited beneficiary sued him for breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty. Husband and wife had created a joint trust and agreed that after the first spouse died, the survivor would not change the trust. After the husband died, the wife created a new trust and put all their property into it. She named her son from a previous marriage as trustee and gave him everything. The husband’s son sued and alleged that the wife’s son breached a fiduciary duty to him. We successfully argued that the wife’s son did not owe any duties to the husband’s son. Wife’s son was not the trustee of the joint trust, but only the wife’s new trust. If the husband’s son had any rights, it was only against the wife, and it was too late to bring a claim against her. The husband’s son dismissed his lawsuit empty-handed.

Defended an administrator of an intestate decedent’s estate from third party creditors

Decedent unexpectedly died of Covid-19 leaving only an estate of about $500,000. One asset of the estate was a profitable night-club business. The owner of the property where the night-club was located filed a lawsuit against the estate alleging that he had made hand-shake loans to the decedent that were now overdue. He also alleged that he had given the decedent rent-reductions during the Covid “lockdown” that were actually loans. The lawsuit read like a shake-down against a man who could not defend himself. The location of the night-club was valuable and the administrator decided it was better to settle with the landlord and keep the location instead of defeating the lawsuit, but losing the lease. After months of strained negotiations, a settlement was reached.

Defended a successor trustee from claims of financial elder abuse

Husband and wife left their estate to their two children. After the husband died, the wife was taken care of by their son. Son took care of his mother throughout Covid-19 until she finally died of an old-age. Before the mother died, the sister sued the brother alleging that he had financially and physically abused the mother. At the sister’s deposition, she failed to offer any evidence that the brother had abused the mother. The brother and sister inherited equally under the mother’s trust, and there was no missing money. The sister dismissed her lawsuit empty-handed.

Defended a successor trustee against a trust contest and successfully enforced a no-contest clause against the contestant

Mother left her estate to her three children. Daughter was appointed as successor trustee. After an evidence hearing, the court determined that the daughter had properly given the brother a written notice that she had become the successor trustee which informed him that there was a 120-day deadline if the brother wanted to contest the trust. After 120 days, the son filed a petition alleging that the trust was not valid. Daughter asked the court for an order declaring that the son’s trust contest was untimely. The request was granted, but the court gave the son an opportunity to amend his petition. Daughter then brought a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and asserted that she should win as a matter of law because the son could not overcome the fact that his trust contest was brought after the deadline. The court granted the Motion, disinheriting the son.

Defended the successor trustee against claims of financial elder abuse

Father transferred his interest in valuable commercial real estate into an irrevocable trust. Father resigned as trustee and appointed his daughter as successor. The son was jealous and wanted to gain control over the estate. When father began to lose mental capacity, the son moved in and took charge of his finances. The son hired an attorney to file a lawsuit on behalf of the father seeking a judgment to partition and sell the property. The father did not know that he had become the plaintiff in the lawsuit. To prevent the daughter from informing the father, the son convinced the attorney to file an application for a restraining order against the daughter. The restraining order application alleged that the daughter was engaging in financial elder abuse. A temporary restraining order was granted, preventing the daughter from communicating with him. Defending the daughter at the trial on the restraining order, we put the son on the witness stand. The son’s scheme was brought to light and the court denied the restraining order. The lawsuit was dismissed. The court ordered the father to pay the daughter’s attorney’s fees.

Represented a disinherited beneficiary of a trust

Father had four children. One daughter died before the father in an unfortunate accident. The father’s living trust provided that the share of his estate which would have gone to the daughter (who had died) would instead go to her son. A few months before the father died, his remaining children started persuading him that his grandson did not deserve a share of the estate. His children downloaded a trust template from the internet and persuaded the father to sign it. The new trust disinherited the grandson. The father either did not know what he was signing or had been unduly influenced by his children. On behalf of the grandson, we filed a trust contest. The grandson alleged that the new trust was the result of undue influence and lack of capacity. The petition also highlighted technical errors in the preparation of the new trust. The father had failed to transfer his real estate into the new trust. The trustee of the new trust agreed to a settlement which gave the grandson the same share that he would have received under the original trust.