When The Stakes Are High, Focused Experience Matters
Established in 1998, Van Dyke Trust & Estates Law, APLC is a San Diego–based boutique law firm devoted exclusively to trust, probate, and estate litigation. We represent beneficiaries, trustees, and families in contested matters involving undue influence, fiduciary misconduct, conservatorships, and complex estate disputes.
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Our work is focused, deliberate, and evidence-driven. We guide clients through high-conflict disputes with strategic clarity, discretion, and disciplined advocacy—when legacy, family, and intent are under scrutiny.
Fighting to Protect
Your Inheritance Rights™
Core Advantages:
Litigation-Only Trust & Probate Practice
Our practice is devoted exclusively to trust, probate, and estate litigation.
Focused Estate Litigation Team
A team built for complex, contested trust and estate disputes.
Decades of Probate & Trust Experience
Experienced in fiduciary disputes, contested estates, and related litigation.
Strategic, Evidence-Driven Advocacy
Careful fact development, forensic review, and disciplined courtroom strategy.
High-Conflict Dispute Capability
Depth of experience handling contentious trust and probate matters.
Discreet, Professional Representation
Sensitive matters are managed with confidentiality and restraint.
Client-Focused Legal Judgment
Clear counsel to support decisive, informed strategy in estate litigation.
Richard S. Van Dyke, Esq.
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Led by Experience.
Supported by a focused team.
Van Dyke Trust & Estates Law, APLC is led by Richard “Scott” Van Dyke, whose decades of practice in trust, probate, and estate litigation shape the firm’s approach to complex disputes. The firm emphasizes preparation, credibility, and a strategy grounded in the facts and the client’s objectives.
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Supporting Scott is a carefully assembled team of attorneys and seasoned legal professionals with concentrated experience in probate and fiduciary litigation—allowing the firm to approach contested matters with clarity, focus, and resolve.
Explore How We Can Help
TRUSTS & ESTATES LITIGATION
Significant wealth often brings significant conflict.
When a trust or estate is contested, the issues are rarely simple — and the consequences can be lasting. Disputes may involve interpretation of testamentary documents, fiduciary conduct, creditor claims, asset distribution, or allegations of undue influence.
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Van Dyke Trust & Estates Law, APLC, represents beneficiaries, trustees, executors, and other interested parties in complex trust and estate litigation throughout California. The firm provides strategic counsel in negotiations, mediations, and trial proceedings, with a clear understanding of both the legal and personal dynamics involved.
If you believe your interests in a trust or estate require careful legal evaluation, we invite you to consult with experienced counsel before making decisions that could affect your rights.
Exclusive Focus—Significant Advantage
Our practice is limited to complex, contested trust and estate litigation. Probate disputes, will contests, trust administration conflicts, and fiduciary challenges are not a subset of our work—they are the entirety of it.
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We do not provide estate planning or transactional services. This deliberate focus allows our attorneys to approach each matter with the depth, rigor, and strategic judgment these disputes demand, including representation in both trial and appellate courts when appropriate.
Speak with experienced trust and probate litigation counsel before critical decisions are made.
What Clients and Peers Have to Say About Working With Us
5.0/5.0
“San Diego’s top probate and trust litigator. Highly recommend.”
- ATTORNEY
5.0/5.0
“First class attorney. Excellent, thorough work product and exceptional knowledge of probate and trust law.”
- ATTORNEY
5.0/5.0
“Highly qualified, extremely professional, and very competent firm.”
- ATTORNEY