Celebrating Over 75 Years of Serving Nevada’s Legal, Business, Government, and Civic Communities

Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation

Practice Areas

Tier 1, Best Lawyers, and Lawyer of the Year Awards in Trust and Estate Litigation

McDonald Carano’s Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation Practice delivers an abundance of private wealth experience and proven litigation skills throughout Nevada. Our state-specific know-how is extensive and positions us to assist high-net-worth individuals and families with complex will and trust contests, estate administration and inheritance disputes, adult guardianship issues, fiduciary management challenges, and other probate litigation matters.

We have represented trustees, executors, heirs, beneficiaries, charities, foundations, fiduciaries, creditors, institutional trustees, trust companies, and other interested third parties in an extensive range of trust and estate litigation. Our work is not limited to disputes and litigation. Our Trust & Estates Practice attorneys offer clients strategies for avoiding controversies by carefully navigating the trust and estate planning, preparation and administration processes, and we provide ongoing advice and counsel to assess and advise on changes and updates.

  • Five Lawyer of the Year Awards: Leigh Goddard, Chair of our Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation Practice, received the Lawyer of the Year award in Trust & Estate Litigation in the 2026 edition for the Northern Nevada region. Mark Knobel received the Lawyer of the Year award in Trust & Estate Litigation in the 2024, 2019, and 2014 editions for the Northern Nevada region. Aaron Shipley received the Lawyer of the Year award in Trust & Estate Litigation in the 2022 edition for the Southern Nevada region. Lawyer of the Year honors are awarded to only one lawyer in a specific practice and geographic region who achieves “extremely high overall feedback from their peers, making it an exceptional distinction.”
  • Tier 1 Practice Ranking: Our Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation Practice is ranked in the highest Tier 1 category in The Best Law Firms in America 2026. As Best Law Firms explains, “achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.” Firms that receive the Tier 1 designation reflect the highest level of respect a firm can earn among leading lawyers and clients from the same communities and practice areas.

Our Reno and Las Vegas attorneys’ experience is everything when it comes to overcoming the challenges associated with generational and wealth planning, as trust and estate litigation is a multi-dimensional discipline that often includes a variety of moving parts. This encompasses issues involving fiduciary duty, real estate, tax, family business succession, bankruptcy, and creditor-related matters, and our keen understanding of all these interconnected components is employed in our service to clients. Our Nevada-focused trust, estate and fiduciary litigation expertise, earned over decades of continuous practice, allows us to effectively guide clients through even the most complex or contentious trust and estate controversies, contests, and related litigation claims.

We deliver much-needed skill in practical problem solving, as well as the ability to effectively manage and leverage the opportunities arising in will and trust contests. Our Nevada trust and estate litigation attorneys are formidable adversaries, having repeatedly resolved disputes in which substantial assets are at stake, representing fiduciaries and other parties as defense and plaintiff counsel. We routinely appear on their behalf in arbitrations, mediations, bench trials, jury trials, and appeals in matters involving:

  • Will and trust interpretation and contests
  • Fiduciary duty litigation, including fraud, misconduct, and breach allegations
  • Multi-party beneficiary conflicts
  • Contested administrative decisions, administrative oversight issues, and governance challenges
  • Investment prudence and portfolio management disputes
  • Trust accounting disputes, asset valuation and allocation, and forensic investigations
  • Trustee defense and advice
  • Adult guardianships and conservatorship litigation, including allegations of undue influence or lack of capacity
  • Surcharge proceedings
  • Removal of fiduciary proceedings and petitions to remove trustees

Practice Area News

25 Attorneys Recognized as “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars”

McDonald Carano is proud to announce that 12 of our attorneys are recognized as “Super Lawyers” and 13 are recognized as “Rising Stars” in the 2026 edition of Mountain States…

22 Las Vegas Office Lawyers Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2027

McDonald Carano proudly announces that 17 of our Las Vegas office lawyers have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America…

27 Reno Office Lawyers Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2027

McDonald Carano proudly announces that 21 of our Reno office lawyers have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and…

Our Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation Group

Leigh
Goddard

Managing Partner
Reno Office Trust, Estate & Fiduciary LitigationCo-Chair Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Aaron
Shipley

Partner Trust, Estate & Fiduciary LitigationCo-Chair Office702.873.4100 V-Card PDF (Print)

Robert E.
Armstrong

Partner Direct775.326.4339 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

James
Chisel

Attorney Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Ian
DeValliere

Attorney Direct775.326.4370 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Jared C.
Dixon

Attorney Direct702.257.4563 Office702.873.4100 V-Card PDF (Print)

John
Galvin

Partner Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Adam
Hosmer-Henner

Partner Direct775.326.4321 (Reno) Direct702.257.4571 (Las Vegas) V-Card PDF (Print)

Mark
Knobel

Partner Direct775.398.7402 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

William A. S.
Magrath II

Partner Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Lance N.
McKenzie

Partner Direct775.398.7408 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

John B.
Mulligan

Senior Counsel Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Cody R.
Noble

Partner Office702.873.4100 V-Card PDF (Print)

Zach
Noland

Attorney Direct775.326.4337 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Scott A.
Swain

Partner Office702.873.4100 V-Card PDF (Print)

Katrina
Weil

Attorney Direct775.326.4335 Office775.788.2000 V-Card PDF (Print)

Michael G.
Whittaker

Partner Office702.873.4100 V-Card PDF (Print)

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