In writing or performing, it is important to know your audience.  In probate litigation, your audience is often the judicial officer presiding over the case.  In this podcast, we sit down with Judge David J. Cowan to get his view on some key topics in handling contested probate proceedings.

First, we explore the subject of pleadings and crafting a petition to tell a story.  We next discuss bench trials and how Judge Cowan approaches them, including how he considers testimony on mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence.  Lastly, we discuss a bit narrower of a topic, relating civil cases to probate cases, which Judge Cowan currently oversees.

This podcast should provide some insight on how a judicial officer may look at your case.

About Our Guest

Judge David J. Cowan is Supervising Judge of the Civil Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  He previously served as Supervising Judge of the Probate and Mental Health Division of the Superior Court.  Judge Cowan is also a member of the Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council of California as well as former vice-chair of the Probate Law Committee of the California Judges Association.

About Our Host

Ryka Farotte is a research attorney at the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyer Association’s Trusts and Estates Section.

Thank you for listening to Trust Me!

Trust Me is Produced by Foley Marra Studios
Edited by Cat Hammons and Todd Gajdusek