Certified Legal Specialty
Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization)
Noteworthy
Attorney, James B. Church & Associates (2006–2013); Managing Attorney, Legal Services of South Central Michigan (1997–2005); Attorney, Law Office of Mark J. Andrew Flory (1992–1997).
Education and Honors
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. (J.D., 1992); George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (B.Acc. 1989); Articles Editor, Law and Policy in International Business (1991–1992); Beaudry Moot Court Competition (1992); Financial Executives Institute, Academic Honors Award (1989). Phi Alpha Delta, Law Fraternity (1987–1989).
Professional Associations
State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section. San Bernardino County Bar Association. Riverside County Bar Association. Michigan State Bar Association, Pro Bono Involvement Committee and Legal Aid Committee. Hon. Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court. Resolutions Committee, Conference of California Bar Associations.
Bar Admissions
California (2006). Michigan (1997). District of Columbia (1995). Maryland (1992). United States District Court, Central District of California. United States District Court. Western District of Michigan. United States District Court, District of Maryland. Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Court.
Community
Board of Directors, Redlands Bowl Performing Arts, Redlands, California. School Site Counsel, Cope Middle School, Redlands, California. School Site Counsel, Mariposa Elementary School, Redlands, California.
A representative sampling of Mr. Flory’s experience is as follows:
Probate Estates and Trust Administration
- Represented administrators and trustees in complex estate and trust administration for businesses, rental properties, and unique investments.
- Represented creditors of probate estates to protect right to recover creditor claims against decedents.
- Represented personal injury plaintiffs in probate matters to protect right to collect for injuries caused by defendants’ estates after defendants have died.
Estate Planning
- Prepared routine and complex estate planning, including estate planning for business owners, rental property investments, and other unique investments.
- Prepared estate planning for unique bequests, including estate planning for care of pets.
- Prepared estate planning for blended families.
- Prepared estate planning for LGBTQ+ couples and families.
Conservatorships
- Frequently represents family members seeking conservatorships for loved ones incapacitated by dementia, brain injuries or other age-related illnesses.
- Represented successor conservator in matter involving settlement of multi-million dollar workers compensation matter.
Guardianships
- Represented grandparents and other family members in guardianship proceedings.
Probate and Trust Litigation
- Successfully defended fiduciaries against threatened court surcharges and sanctions.
- Successfully represented beneficiaries in litigation against fiduciary malfeasance.
- Successfully defended beneficiary of multi-million dollar trust against trustee’s attempt to disinherit beneficiary pursuant to no-contest clause of trust.
- Protected rights of minor beneficiaries in contested trust litigation matter through representation of guardian ad litem.
- Represented trust beneficiary in litigation to recover assets misappropriated by trustee of father’s trust.
- Successfully defended client against a family member’s attempt to establish verbal trust consisting of assets given to client by beneficiary designation.
- Represented client in probate litigation involving a “Marvin” claim for ownership of real and personal property claimed by estate of client’s fiancé.
Conservatorship Litigation
- Represented numerous fiduciaries in court-supervised accountings, including litigation involving accounting disputes.
- Represented a conservator in litigation to recover a conservatee’s interest in a multi-million dollar dairy business after elderly woman with diminished capacity had been tricked into transferring her majority interest.
- Represented conservator of a missing person, including successful defense against a challenge brought by children to the conservator’s accounting.
- Represented conservator in action for financial elder abuse committed by auto dealership against conservatee, involving fraudulent sale of expensive automobile to elderly conservatee who had dementia and no driver’s license.
Rights of Conservatees
- Represented conservatees in multiple appellate matters related to individual rights of conservatees.
- Represented a disabled adult in trial to protect fundamental right of disabled person to be married.
- Represented a conservatee and created a special needs trust for the benefit of conservatee, in a matter where the conservatee, who is confined to a state mental hospital, inherited police pension benefits from his deceased father.
- Successfully defended a conservatee against a challenge by a family member to conservatee’s estate plan and nomination of conservator.
- Frequently represents the elderly in capacity hearings, such as in conservatorship proceedings.
- Represented conservatee in action to establish estate plan for recipient of tribal gaming income.
- Represented conservatee in action to recover funds misappropriated by a professional fiduciary, who was criminally prosecuted.
Mental Health Conservatorships
- Frequently represents family members seeking mental health conservatorships for loved ones, and represent individuals facing mental health issues.
- Represented mental health conservatees to protect civil rights and mental health treatment rights.