THE LAW OFFICE OF DAVID M. GARTEN

What THE LAW OFFICE OF DAVID M. GARTEN does

The Law Office of David M. Garten, Esq. is a solo-practitioner boutique litigation law firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, founded by David M. Garten upon his admission to the Florida Bar in 1984. The firm's practice is narrowly focused on contested probate, trust, guardianship, fiduciary, powers of attorney, homestead, and elective share litigation, serving individuals, families, and financial institutions across Palm Beach County, Martin County, and Broward County. The firm does not provide estate planning or document drafting services and positions itself as a dedicated trial practice handling matters ranging from multimillion-dollar will and trust contests to smaller fiduciary disputes.

The firm operates a personal-representation model in which clients work directly with Attorney Garten from initial consultation through trial resolution, combined with a structured referral pipeline from accountants, estate planning attorneys, and bank trust departments. Marketing channels are limited to professional referrals, a content-rich website with practice-area and service-area pages, and video interviews published on Vimeo. The firm carries Best Lawyers recognition in probate law for 2023 and 2024, and the founder serves as chairperson of the Probate and Guardianship Practice Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

The revenue model is professional services billings for litigation representation, with pricing conducted on a quote-based, non-disclosed fee schedule. Initial consultations are offered free of charge, and payments are accepted via Zelle to a dedicated IOTA account. No fee schedule, headcount of contracted staff, financial performance, or funding history is publicly disclosed. The firm is privately held, entirely founder-owned, and operates with approximately five total personnel including support staff.

Name

THE LAW OFFICE OF DAVID M. GARTEN

Legal name

Law Office of David M. Garten, Esq.

Website

https://gartenlaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Law Office of David M. Garten, Esq. is a West Palm Beach, Florida solo-practitioner boutique litigation firm specializing in contested probate, trust, guardianship, and fiduciary matters for individuals, families, and financial institutions across Palm Beach, Martin, and Broward counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Probate and Trust Litigation Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Probate litigation
• Trust litigation
• Guardianship litigation
• Estate litigation
• Fiduciary litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

West Palm Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Litigation Representation: Professional legal services for contested probate, trust, guardianship, and estate matters. Revenue generated through attorney fees for litigation representation, consultation, and trial services. The firm emphasizes providing quality representation at reasonable cost comparable to boutique firm pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Law Office of David M. Garten, Esq. is a boutique South Florida litigation law firm that exclusively represents clients in contested probate, trust, guardianship, fiduciary, powers of attorney, homestead, and elective share disputes. Founded in 1984 by Attorney David M. Garten, the firm delivers courtroom advocacy and trial representation for individuals, families, and financial institutions across Palm Beach County, Martin County, and Broward County.

Product overview

The Law Office of David M. Garten, Esq. provides legal services through a unified practice focused exclusively on litigation in the areas of probate, trust, guardianship, fiduciary, powers of attorney, homestead, and elective share disputes. The firm does not offer estate planning or document drafting services. All services are centered around courtroom advocacy and trial representation for clients ranging from individuals to financial institutions in South Florida. The practice areas are not separate products but rather service offerings within a single litigation-focused law practice serving Palm Beach County, Martin County, and Broward County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Probate Litigation Services Legal representation in contested probate matters including will contests based on incapacity, undue influence, or failure to conform to Florida law. Handles cases ranging from multimillion-dollar will and trust contests to small disputes, for beneficiaries, heirs, surviving spouses, and personal representatives.
• Trust Litigation Services Legal representation in trust disputes including challenges to validity, trustee malfeasance, improper distributions, beneficiary conflicts, and trust modification proceedings for individuals and institutional fiduciaries.
• Guardianship Litigation Services Legal representation in guardianship matters including establishing, contesting, or modifying guardianships for incapacitated adults and minors, with hundreds of guardianship cases handled by Attorney Garten.
• Fiduciary Litigation Services Legal representation in disputes involving breaches of fiduciary duty by executors, trustees, and guardians, including claims for self-dealing, unauthorized transfers, failure to account, and fiduciary fee disputes.
• Powers of Attorney Litigation Services Legal representation in disputes involving the misuse and abuse of powers of attorney, including actions against agents who exceed or abuse their authority.
• Homestead Litigation Services Legal representation in disputes involving Florida homestead protections and rights, including challenges to homestead designations and creditor claims against homestead property.
• Elective Share Litigation Services Legal representation in elective share disputes where surviving spouses seek their statutory share of a deceased spouse's estate under Florida law.
• Estate Administration Dispute Services Legal assistance for personal representatives administering estates that have become disputed, including asset identification, creditor notifications, court filings, accountings, and final distributions, with a focus on contested administration scenarios.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 30 years of legal experience handling highly emotional disputes, hotly contested issues, and complex litigation.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Greenspoon Marder LLP: Large Florida-based full-service firm with trusts and estates and litigation capabilities. Overlaps with the firm on contested probate and guardianship matters while serving a much wider client base.
• Holland & Knight LLP: Major U.S. law firm with a strong Florida private wealth services and trust litigation practice. Comparable on trust/probate litigation matters but as part of a much broader portfolio competing for institutional fiduciary clients.
• Akerman LLP: Large Florida-headquartered full-service law firm with a substantial trusts and estates practice including litigation. Overlaps in contested probate and trust matters but offers far broader services and geographic reach.
• Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP: National firm with Florida private wealth and fiduciary litigation capabilities. Comparable on contested estate and trust matters through its wealth planning practice, but competes as a broad incumbent rather than a boutique specialist.

Direct peers

• McCabe Rabin, P.A. West Palm Beach-based estate planning and estate/trust litigation boutique serving the same South Florida market. Direct comparable in practice scope and regional focus, with overlapping probate and trust dispute work.
• Wolfe Law Group, P.A. Boca Raton estate planning and probate boutique serving South Florida clients. Comparable specialty practice with similar high-net-worth client focus and estate/trust litigation offerings.
• Gelfand Barrett Ericson, P.C. Florida-based estate planning, probate, and trust litigation boutique. Comparable boutique practitioner with similar specialty focus and litigation-centric positioning.
• Chepenik Trushin LLP: Florida estate planning and trust/probate litigation boutique. Comparable niche practitioner with overlapping South Florida presence and similar referral-driven practice model.
• Karp Law Firm, P.A. Boca Raton estate and probate litigation boutique operating in the same South Florida geography. Directly comparable niche practitioner serving similar high-net-worth estate dispute clientele.

Emerging players

• Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys (Florida boutique practitioners): Smaller Florida elder law and estate planning boutiques that handle guardianship and probate matters alongside planning. Partial overlap with the firm's litigation focus; compete for the same referral sources in adjacent practice areas.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-law-office-of-david-m.-garten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE LAW OFFICE OF DAVID M. GARTEN