Novak v. Fay

Summary

An attorney's charging lien created by a contingency fee agreement attached to the client's after-acquired beneficial interest in a trust upon settlement and probate court approval. Under Probate Code section 9391, the attorney as lienholder could enforce the lien against trust assets without filing a creditor's claim, and the one-year statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure section 366.2 did not apply. The client's subsequent death and assignment of his interest to another did not destroy the preexisting lien. The probate court's denial of the attorney's petition to enforce the lien was reversed.

Holdings

1. Plaintiff was not required to file a creditor's claim because he held a lien on property in the decedent's estate, and under Probate Code section 9391, he could enforce the lien directly. The statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure section 366.2 does not apply to such an action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiff, as an equitable lienholder under Probate Code section 9391, was required to file a creditor's claim in probate rather than enforce his lien directly.
2. Whether Mr. Kelly made a nonprobate transfer of his beneficial interest under Probate Code section 5000.

Disposition

reversed