There are notable differences between probate court and civil court (where most non-criminal cases are heard). Probate court can be an unfamiliar and challenging environment for an attorney who doesn’t specialize in trust and estate litigation. One of the biggest differences is that a probate court is a court of “equity.” This essentially means the court has more latitude to do what the judge believes is fair. It can be frustrating when a judge imposes his own view of “fairness” on family members they know little about. Another difference is that most pleadings in probate court must be verified. This means that a client accusing a trustee or another party of wrongdoing must swear to certain facts under penalty of perjury.