Hearst

Plaintiffs and appellants William R. Hearst II (William), Deborah Hearst (Deborah) and Phoebe Hearst Cooke (Phoebe) (collectively, plaintiffs) appeal an order denying their petition to declare that an action they propose to bring against defendants and respondents Victor F. Ganzi, as cotrustee of the Hearst Family Trust, et al. (collectively, the Trustees), would not amount to a will contest. , ,

This appeal involves the latest challenge by certain beneficiaries of the Hearst Family Trust (the Trust) to the actions of the Trustees thereof. The plaintiffs, who are income beneficiaries of the Trust, contend the Trustees have breached their fiduciary duty of impartiality by favoring the remainder beneficiaries over the income beneficiaries. Plaintiffs propose to bring a petition against the Trustees for breach of fiduciary duty in order to compel the Trustees to increase the income distribution to them.

The first step in that process is the filing by plaintiffs of a petition under section 21320 to obtain a preliminary determination from the trial court as to whether their proposed petition against the Trustees, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, would constitute a…