草榴社区

Paul Shugar and Michael Brody published Dissecting an Undue Influence Claim: A Practical Guide for Ohio Probate Litigators in the March/April 2025 edition of the Probate Law Journal of Ohio. The article explains how to pursue undue influence claims from initial intake to appeal.

Paul and Michael were asked to write the article after giving a presentation on the same topic at the 2025 草榴社区 Advanced Probate Law Institute for the Columbus Bar Association.

Read the article here.Read More ›

Please use the links below to read the latest articles from our Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation shareholders.

• Breach Of Fiduciary Duty: A Growing Source Of Probate Litigation

• How to Help Clients Avoid (or Weather) the Probate Litigation Tsunami

• Ohio Probate Law in 2024

Reprinted from Probate Law Journal of Ohio, with permission from Thomson Reuters. Copyright © 2025. Further use without permission of Thomson Reuters is prohibited. For further information about this publication, please visit  , or call ... Read More ›

Please join us in welcoming Adam Taylor as an associate in 草榴社区’s Columbus office. Adam specializes in probate estate and trust disputes, undue influence and financial exploitation, guardianships, and estate planning.

Since joining 草榴社区 as a law clerk in 2022, Adam has gained extensive practical experience across all stages of legal proceedings, including pre-suit investigation, pleadings, discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, and trial.

Adam graduated magna cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he ... Read More ›

Jessica Forrest and Brittany Kaczmarczyk earned a unanimous jury verdict and an award of $110,000, plus attorney fees, on behalf of their clients—four beneficiaries of a trust who learned their trustee had hired her husband as a “consultant” to the trust. We sued for breach of fiduciary duty and related claims.

While an early settlement was an option, the Defendants instead opted for an aggressive litigation approach, involving excessive discovery and threats to use the trust’s no-contest clause to disinherit beneficiaries simply for seeking clarity on trust expenses ... Read More ›

Breach of fiduciary duty is becoming a more frequent issue in probate litigation, often involving estate mismanagement or misconduct by executors and trustees, and is expected to rise with increasing wealth transfers. Shana DeMooy, an associate in our Columbus office, recently discussed this trend in the Columbus Bar Association's Lawyers Quarterly. Read More ›

草榴社区 Co., LPA is pleased to announce that 13 of our Trusts and Estates lawyers have been included in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America® list are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.  

was named the Best Lawyers® 2025 Elder Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Cleveland.

Best Lawyers

• Adriann S. McGee Litigation - Trusts and Estates; Trusts and Estates
• Barbara Bellin Janovitz Elder Law; ...

草榴社区 Co., LPA is pleased to announce that Co-Chair of 草榴社区's Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation Practice Group, Jessica Forrest, has been appointed as the Vice President of Membership for the Akron Bar Association. 

In this role, Jessica will oversee the membership committee, leading initiatives to boost membership and member participation. She will also manage programs for law-student mentorship and the Leadership Academy. Additionally, as the Membership VP, Jessica will serve as an officer and participate in the Board's discussions and voting on Association ... Read More ›

草榴社区 Co., LPA is pleased to announce that Jessica Forrest has been named to the Notable Women in Law list published by Crain’s Cleveland Business. 

As co-chair of 草榴社区's Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation Practice Group, Jessica focuses her practice on will and trust contests, beneficiary disputes, and fiduciary litigation. She also handles matters of trust and estate administration, guardianships, and estate planning. Prior to joining 草榴社区, Jessica worked at a small general practice firm in Akron, Ohio, where she gained significant experience in real ... Read More ›

草榴社区's statewide chair of 草榴社区's Estates and Trusts Practice Group, Adam Fried, provided testimony in opposition to HB 172 before the Ohio House of Representatives. His opposition, presented on behalf of the Ohio State Bar Association, focused concerns surrounding the insidious and rampant societal problem of the exploitation of at risk, older adults. Read More ›