In a huge win, Ad Astra prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a fraudulent transfer action. Our client has a judgment against him individually for claims involving a real estate transaction. His family has an irrevocable trust that holds most of the client’s family’s assets. He created the trust when his wife was alive and began the process before the claims in the real estate matter arose. The client and his wife completed the trust after the client’s and the judgment creditor’s claims were filed. Upon her death, the trust became irrevocable. The client’s wife sadly died of cancer during the pendency of the real estate arbitration, and it was her wish that her family’s assets be protected for their four children. Ultimately, the arbitrator found against the client who now has a judgment against him personally, but not his trust. He is neither the trustee nor the beneficiary of the irrevocable trust. He has a life estate in the home he resides in, but otherwise no interest in the trust. Those facts did not stop an aggressive plaintiff’s counsel from bringing the action.
In an effort to collect on its judgment from the arbitration, the judgment creditor first recorded abstracts of judgment from the underlying real estate arbitration on properties owned by the trust. Then, the creditor filed a separate lawsuit against the client claiming that he had transferred his assets to the family trust to avoid his obligations. Ad Astra conducted discovery and deposed the CEO of the judgment creditor. It became clear that the judgment creditor had nothing more than pure speculation as to why the client transferred the family’s property to an irrevocable trust. Using discovery responses and deposition testimony, Ad Astra was able to prove that there was no issue of fact to decide at trial since the judgment creditor plaintiff admittedly had no evidence. Pure speculation and conjecture will not a summary judgment motion overcome. The client is overjoyed at this milestone on his path to putting his disputes behind him. As for Ad Astra, we live for great results like this one!