Webster

INTRODUCTION

This case presents the type of sad situation we see too often for comfort – family members locked in acrimonious litigation. Appellants William Webster and his sister, Cynthia Lazzaro, challenged their mother’s actions as trustee over property and funds following the death of their father. William and Cynthia’s 1 mother, respondent Roberta Webster, undertook litigation of her own, attempting to evict William from trust property and seeking its partition. In the end, the three of them were left only with a set of relationships damaged probably beyond repair – or, in the words of the trial court “the complete disintegration of a family following the demise of the patriarch.” In this appeal, however, our focus is narrow. William and Cynthia do not challenge the substance of the court’s judgment, but rather the ruling denying their separate petition for attorney fees under Probate Code section 17211, subdivision (b). 2 Given our deferential standard of review, we find no error.

FACTS

Roberta, a special education teacher, and her husband Walter, an attorney, had three children: David (who predeceased his parents) Cynthia, and William. 3 Walter handled all of the…