Betrayed by someone they trusted.

What this firm handles

• Trust and will contests — challenges to an instrument that does not reflect what the person actually intended.
• Breach of fiduciary duty — a trustee or executor who has favored themselves over the people they serve.
• Guardianships and conservatorships — including contested appointments and the removal of a guardian who is not acting in the person's interest.
• Undue influence and capacity — where a document was signed under pressure, or by someone who no longer understood it.
• Estate disputes — accountings, distributions, and the conduct of an administration.
• Contract Disputes

An appellate record in this exact area

Shortly after beginning to practice, Cloyd Smith argued and won a case of first impression before the Supreme Court of Virginia, establishing that a trust is not a contract enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act or the Virginia Uniform Arbitration Act.

If you have been told an arbitration clause in a trust means you cannot go to court, that is the case to read: Boyle v. Anderson, 301 Va. 52, 871 S.E.2d 226 (2022). It is an unusual credential in this field, and a practical one — an opponent who loses at trial cannot assume the firm will fold on appeal.

These cases are rarely only about money

Fiduciary disputes run through families. They involve a parent's final years, a sibling who held the power of attorney, a caretaker who arrived late and left with a great deal. The legal question is narrow; what is at stake for the family is not.

That is the reason the firm is built around a trial lawyer. A matter like this settles properly only when the other side believes it will otherwise be tried.

What it costs

Fiduciary and estate matters are billed hourly, not on contingency. These cases turn on documents, accountings and testimony rather than on a fund to be divided at the end, and hourly billing is the honest way to run them. The case review itself is free.

Every matter is evaluated individually. The firm's trust and estate litigation practice is generally focused on disputes involving substantial assets, often exceeding $1 million in value.

Timing

Virginia sets deadlines for challenging an instrument or an accounting, and they can be shorter than families expect. If you are weighing whether something was handled properly, it is worth asking early rather than after a deadline has run.