Robert Sacks

Practice Areas

Trust, estate and conservatorship litigation and appeals.

Professional Memberships

Robert Sacks has been a Member of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section for more than two decades, and has held multiple positions as a Member of the Section's governing Council, on which he served as the Supervisory Council Member for the Litigation, Ethics and Malpractice Group of Committees, and as Section Liaison to the National College of Probate Judges. He is a longtime Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Publications

"Family Feuds: How To Make A Lawsuit Less Likely", Private Wealth

"Pitfalls and Potholes: Lack of Capacity and Undue Influence", The Journal of Gift Planning, Vol. 6 No. 4

"Mediation: An Effective Method to Resolve Estate and Trust Disputes", Estate Planning Magazine

"Probate Court - Supervised Mediation Program Guide for Attorneys and Parties", Los Angeles County Superior Court, Probate Department

Experience

Robert N. Sacks practices exclusively in the area of trust, estate and conservatorship litigation. With more than 30 years' experience, Mr. Sacks handles cases across the full spectrum of trust, estate and conservatorship law, including prosecuting or defending traditional contests challenging the validity of a will or trust, breach of fiduciary duty claims involving trustees and other fiduciaries, and challenges to estate plans and other issues in conservatorship proceedings. He represents both fiduciaries and beneficiaries, ranging from corporate trustees to charities and high-net-worth individuals, in such matters through trial and appeal. Mr. Sacks also serves as a mediator in such disputes.

Mr. Sacks' recent representative trial matters include successfully defending a family trust against claims that a family member had pledged $18 million to a charity shortly before his death; successfully representing a trustee in a complex dispute involving claims of interpretation, execution, powers to amend or revoke, and breach of fiduciary duty; and successfully representing a charitable foundation as beneficiary against proposed amendments to the trust that would have negatively impacted the charity.

Education

Awards

Languages Spoken

Spanish