Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP

Since 2001, Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP has focused exclusively on trusts and estates litigation. The nine-lawyer firm, headed by its five partners--Terrence M. Franklin, Ryan D. Houck, Margaret G. Lodise, Matthew W. McMurtrey and Robert N. Sacks--has maintained a narrow focus to best litigate the unique issues that often arise in high-stakes disputes over end-of-life probate concerns.

The firm's attorneys have a wealth of experience in will contests and how their outcome influences individuals, charitable organizations, educational institutions, businesses and corporate and individual fiduciaries.

Lodise in 2020 concluded her term as guardian ad litem for the minor children of entertainer Michael Jackson, a position to which the probate court appointed her soon after Jackson's death in 2009. The term ended this year when his youngest child, Prince Michael Jackson II, turned 18.

She said that because most Los Angeles County probate matters are consolidated in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, she and her law partners and others in the specialized field largely work there. "It's a smaller bar with a lot of camaraderie. I wanted to be in a smaller firm, and Bob and Terry and I had known each other for years when we got together. I thoroughly enjoy it. It's great to have a personal connection with the people you serve and the people you work with."

In her Jackson guardianship, Lodise initially advocated for the best interests of the performer's two sons and daughter amid disputes over Jackson's affairs, including the resolution of certain contracts proposed by the estate's special administrators but opposed in part by Jackson's mother, Katherine. Later, Lodise continued to represent the children's interests during the ongoing administration of the estate.

Sacks described himself and Lodise as "big firm refugees"; he once worked as an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Lodise was at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. "As a third year associate at Morrison," Sacks said, "I was asked to work on a trust contest and I loved it. I ended up as a founding partner of Ross, Sacks & Glazier LLP in 1991."

Recently, Sacks successfully defended a family trust against claims that a family member had pledged $18 million to a charity shortly before his death. He also represents educational institutions to which persons have left large sums in their wills.

"In one such case, a niece contested her aunt's bequest to a major university. She claimed her aunt was not mentally competent or had been unduly influenced, implying that someone at the school had pressured her to make the bequest. But the aunt had consistently donated to the university during her lifetime, and she was easily shown to have been more than competent. We resolved it in mediation in the university's favor. It can be hard, because people like the niece have unreasonable expectations."

Sacks and Lodise advise people to talk through their intentions with their heirs. "It's surprising how many people don't have that conversation," Lodise said. "Most children expect that their parents' money will be left to them. We and the estate planners we deal with suggest that people would do better to avoid surprises."

Franklin, who is African American, has an unusual story from his own ancestry that coincidentally befits one who practices probate litigation. In 2014, exploring his family history, he learned he's descended from a slave owner, John Sutton, and his slave, Lucie. They were his great-great-great-great grandparents. Franklin found a 19th century will in which the man directed the sale of livestock to fund the relocation to freedom of his "mulatto slave Lucie" and her children. The man's brother contested the will but lost. As a trial lawyer, Franklin was riveted; as a romantic, he was moved.

Some family members argued Sutton's relationship with Lucie may not have been consensual. "I said, 'It's slavery, so there's no consent. I'll accept that as a premise,'" Franklin replied. But humans are complicated. "Even if it wasn't love, it was an act of kindness," he decided, and Lucie may have encouraged Sutton to write the will to ensure her family's welfare.

Franklin tells the tale at meetings of probate practitioners. "And he tells it well," Sacks said. "I've heard him, and you can see people tearing up." Added Franklin, "History contains more shades than black and white."

-- John Roemer