Probate: Interim Fees Awardable Out Of Trust Were Compensable To Attorney Assisting Trustee On Appeal

No Appellate Costs Awarded Per Se, But Probate Court Has Broad Powers To Award Attorneys Assisting Trusts Even On An Interim Basis.

            A beneficiary/removed trustee was flummoxed that the probate court approved the successor trustee’s request for payment of interim attorney’s fees and costs incurred in representing the trust on appeal out of the trust.  That determination was appealed in Blickenstaff v. Cumming, Case No. E073007 (4^th Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 14, 2020) (unpublished), but affirmed.  The reason was that the probate court has broad powers to aid the trust in defending itself on appeal, as was the case here even though interim fees/costs were awarded.  (Rudnick v. Rudnick, 179 Cal.App.4^th 1328, 1333 (2009).)