Elizabeth Hughes is a highly skilled attorney who focuses on fiduciary litigation, with a particular concentration on disputes that arise from Florida estates, trusts, and guardianships. Elizabeth's experience includes successfully litigating and resolving complex cases involving will and trust contests, fiduciary fee disputes, determination of heir disputes, disputes over appointment of fiduciaries, removal of fiduciaries, surcharge actions, elective share disputes, and breaches of fiduciary obligations. She regularly assists individuals and clients serving as fiduciaries in reforming and construing wills and trusts, determining rights in wills and trusts, modifying trusts, and terminating trusts.
With almost a decade of experience in guardianship and mental health litigation proceedings, Elizabeth also advises clients on disputes over incapacity and appointments as guardian. She has handled contested emergency temporary guardianship proceedings for clients and has experience with adversary elderly exploitation injunction matters in Florida. Elizabeth’s degree in Health Science and Rehabilitative Services provides her with a deep understanding of guardianship administration and restoration proceedings. She is skilled in representing professional and non-professional guardians and has experience representing both petitioners and respondents in Florida Marchman Act proceedings. Elizabeth has also served as private counsel for alleged incapacitated persons, as well as wards.
In addition to representing clients in related matters, Elizabeth has served as court-appointed counsel, ad litem, estate curator, and guardian in numerous probate, trust, and guardianship cases in Florida. For more than ten years, Elizabeth has served on the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar and in this capacity has been involved in crafting Florida Law relating to estates, trusts, and guardianship proceedings and has been involved in the legislative process for the Section.
Elizabeth writes and speaks frequently on a variety of trusts and estates topics. Her thought leadership has been cited by an appellate court in a case involving a major proposition of Florida trust law (Roller v. Collins, Case No. 5D22-1114, (Fla. 5th DCA, October 20, 2023).