Probate: No Absolute Right To Evidentiary Hearing On “Extraordinary” Trust Attorney Fees Where No Specific Offer Of Proof Was Made As To Relevancy

 

 

Judge’s Familiarity With The Work Sealed The Deal.

 

            In Estate of Redlich, Case No. D069436 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 May 22, 2017) (unpublished), a probate judge awarded “extraordinary fees” for attorney trust work, with the losing party claiming that this was error because the judge did not allow an evidentiary hearing.  The 4/1 DCA affirmed.  Although generally agreeing that a judge normally holds an evidentiary hearing on probate extraordinary fees, that rule is not ironclad in every situation.  Here, the losing party failed to provide a specific offer of proof as to relevancy, allowing the probate judge to determine the matter without an evidentiary hearing.  Especially compelling was the fact the probate judge stated having great familiarity with the case so as to fairly adjudicate the extraordinary fee issue.