Trudi Schindler

Trudi Schindler has practiced exclusively in the area of probate, trust and estate litigation and related appeals for more than 15 years.  Prior to co-founding Schindler Eyrich | LLP in 2010, Trudi was Senior Counsel in the Trust & Estate Department at the Los Angeles law firm of Reish, Luftman, Reicher & Cohen and Senior Litigation Associate at the Los Angeles law firm of Hinojosa & Wallet.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Trudi handles all aspects of trust, estate and probate litigation matters, including trust and will contests, disputes between trustees or executors and beneficiaries, disputes concerning fiduciary and conservator appointments, fiduciary accountings and surcharge issues, contested heirship and conservatorship matters, and trust and will interpretation issues.   She has extensive practice experience before the probate courts, civil and appellate courts, including matters resulting in published opinions from the California Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

Some examples of her trust and estate litigation experiences are:

• Determination of competing rights to inherit from estate
• Recovery of property belonging to estate or trust
• Defense of executors and trustees with respect to management of trust or estate assets
• Breach of fiduciary duties actions
• Defense of or invalidation of will and trust documents
• Disputes between charities and families concerning rights to estate
• Will and trust contests concerning allegations based on forgery, lack of undue influence, lack of due execution, revocation and invalidated transfers
• Disputes concerning trustee discretion and prudent investment of trust assets
• Application and interpretation of no-contest clauses
• Disputes concerning parent/child relationships with respect to rights to inherit
• Validity and ratification of power of attorney acts
• Recovery of estate assets from escheat to the state of California
• Disputes concerning conservatorship and the capacity of a proposed conservatee to choose their own legal counsel

MEMBERSHIPS AND APPOINTMENTS

Trudi is an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and California Bar Association.  She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Trust & Estate section of both the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association serving as liaison between the two committees and is the immediate past Co-chair of the Beverly Hills Bar Association Trust & Estate Section.  She is also active on the Litigation Subcommittee of the Trust & Estate Section of the California Bar Association.

She has previously served on the Board of Governors for the Beverly
Hills Bar Association Barristers and the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.

PUBLISHED DECISIONS

The following decisions from the California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeals:

• Estate of McGuigan (2000) 83 Cal. App. 4th 639
• Estate of Rabinowitz (2003) 114 Cal. App. 4th 635
• Estate of Saueressig (2004) 122 Cal. App. 4th 1086 (review granted)
• Estate of Saueressig (2006) 38 Cal. 4th 1045

ADMISSIONS

• State Bar of California 1996
• United States District Court, Central District of California 1996
• Hawaii State Bar, Pro Hac Vice Admission, 2008

EDUCATION AND AWARDS

Trudi earned her J.D. from Whittier College School of Law in 1996 graduating in the top 15% of her class receiving the American Jurisprudence Award in both Advanced Legal Writing and Forensic Evidence.  She received her B.A. degree in Liberal studies with a minor in political science from California State University, Northridge in 1993.

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