Shaheen I. Imami

Successfully negotiated a resolution ensuring a client-devisee's interest in a decedent's multi-million-dollar post-death estate based on a death-bed will and obtaining a reduction of attorney fees charged by the prior personal representative's counsel by more than $600,000.

Negotiated a resolution and successfully removed a trustee accused to misappropriation of assets and breaches of fiduciary duty in a multi-million-dollar irrevocable trust established for client-beneficiary's benefit.

Successfully assisted client-trustees in resolving disputes with other trustees involving the administration and distribution of their parent's post-death estate that had languished for nearly 20 years because of an inability to agree on the allocation of farmland, income and expenses.

Defended a client against protective proceedings accusing him of incapacity and the general inability to manage his own financial and personal affairs and received a favorable outcome.

Defended against a challenge to the validity of an estate plan by settlor's alleged out-of-wedlock children involving a multi-million-dollar post-death estate and closely-held business and received a successful outcome.

Represented a client in the successful defense against a challenge by a remainder beneficiary to the validity of the settlor's estate plan and provision for the client-spouse where the challenge sought to escape the applicable statute of limitation by recharacterizing the remainder beneficiary's claim as a request to modify the trust instrument; then successfully asserted the no contest provision in the trust instrument against the remainder beneficiary.

Defended a client against attempts by another beneficiary to assert claims alleging misappropriation of assets of and debts owed to a deceased settlor where such claims, to the extent they ever existed, belonged solely to the personal representative and trustee, eventually resulting in a settlement that preserved the bulk of the client's beneficial interest in the post-death estate.

Prosecuted the removal of a trustee-child for failing to properly account for the trust’s assets and to maintain accurate books and records, as well as for a conflict of interest where the trustee-child executed a care-services contract for the incapacitated settlor allowing for payment to the trustee-child for caregiver services.

Successfully negotiated a settlement against a trustee who improperly terminated an irrevocable life insurance trust by cashing in the underlying life insurance policy without conducting proper due diligence.

Successfully defended challenges by an incapacitated settlor's significant-other to the settlor's multi-million-dollar estate plan and ensuring the client-child's role as the settlor's trustee, agent and designated patient advocate, and restoring the client-child's ability to visit with the settlor.

Negotiated a successful outcome on behalf of the client for numerous resignations of trustees accused of breaches of fiduciary duty ranging from misappropriation of assets to arbitrary decisions intended to deny beneficiaries of their rights to income or principal.

Assisted a client-trustee in successfully recovering $1,000,000 improperly distributed to a surviving spouse's amended trust which excluded the first-to-die settlor's children who would have received shares under their parent's trust.

Defended the validity of a trust established by a settlor who assumed the name of his predeceased sibling and maintained several identities prior to his death.

Negotiated a settlement of claims against a client-trustee for alleged misappropriation of assets and breaches of fiduciary duty in a multi-million-dollar trust.

Successfully negotiated a settlement to restore a client's beneficial interest in her parent's multi-million-dollar post-death estate where the parent's estate plan was amended a short time before her death to exclude her children and solely benefit the nephew of the settlor's late-husband.

Successfully assisted a co-trustee in the proper exercise of discretion regarding a current beneficiary's request for a substantial and continuing principal distribution where the grant of the request would have substantially impacted the remainder beneficiaries.

Assisted a client in successfully obtaining a modification of an irrevocable trust to convert a discretionary trust to a unitrust to allow for consistent distributions to the client.

Successfully defended an appeal for a client-trustee before the Michigan Court of Appeals on the interpretation of a trial court's authority to refer an arbitration award back to the arbitrator for clarification or modification.