Program Details
2025-06-19 13:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2025-06-19 13:00:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
1:00 pm - 1:30 pm ESTThis session establishes the foundational legal standards governing trustee conduct, including the duty of loyalty, prudent investor obligations, and duties to inform beneficiaries. Attendees will explore how California Probate Code sections 16000-16015 define these obligations and the consequences when trustees breach their fiduciary duties.
Michael A. HackardBrian GeremiaJohn DePiazza 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm ESTLearn to identify warning signs that indicate potential trustee misconduct, from unusual investment patterns and commingling of funds to communication breakdowns with beneficiaries. This session covers trust document manipulation, HEMS standard violations, and administrative failures that should prompt further investigation.
Michael A. HackardBrian GeremiaJohn DePiazza 2:10 pm - 2:40 pm ESTThis session examines the range of legal remedies available when trustee misconduct is discovered, including emergency court interventions, trustee suspension and removal petitions, and surcharge actions. Attendees will learn practical strategies for building cases through discovery techniques and when settlement may be the most effective resolution.
Michael A. HackardBrian GeremiaJohn DePiazza 2:40 pm - 3:10 pm ESTMaster effective deposition techniques specifically tailored for trust litigation, including the powerful ‘Yes And Method’ for lowering witness defenses and exposing misconduct. This session provides practical guidance on questioning techniques to document HEMS violations, conflicts of interest, and breaches of fiduciary duty.
Michael A. HackardBrian GeremiaJohn DePiazzaMichael A. Hackard is the founding attorney of Hackard Law, a Sacramento-based firm devoted to estate, trust, and probate litigation. Admitted to the California State Bar in 1976, he has spent five decades representing abused beneficiaries and victims of elder financial exploitation in California and federal courts, including out-of-state clients with California-related matters.
Brian Geremia is a senior attorney at Hackard Law specializing in trust, estate, and elder financial abuse litigation, including will and trust contests, trustee breach of fiduciary duty claims, accountings, deed cancellations, and related matters.
John DePiazza is an Army veteran and West Point graduate with 28 years of active and reserve service who brings a multifaceted background combining leadership, technical expertise, and deep commitment to ethical service to his fiduciary practice.
Michael A. Hackard is the founding attorney of Hackard Law, a Sacramento-based firm devoted to estate, trust, and probate litigation. Admitted to the California State Bar in 1976, he has spent five decades representing abused beneficiaries and victims of elder financial exploitation in California and federal courts, including out-of-state clients with California-related matters.
Brian Geremia is a senior attorney at Hackard Law specializing in trust, estate, and elder financial abuse litigation, including will and trust contests, trustee breach of fiduciary duty claims, accountings, deed cancellations, and related matters.
John DePiazza is an Army veteran and West Point graduate with 28 years of active and reserve service who brings a multifaceted background combining leadership, technical expertise, and deep commitment to ethical service to his fiduciary practice.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
