My last post discussed the pros and cons of institutional trustees vs. family member trustees. Regardless of whom is serving as trustee, in the course of my law practice there are common themes which repeatedly arise in the area of trust disputes and litigation. Specifically, it is easy for trustees—especially inexperienced family member trustees—to make mistakes when administering [...]
Archive for the ‘Duties of trustees’ Category
Common Mistakes When Serving As Trustee
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of trustees, Improper investments, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Prudent investor rule, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, Suitability of investments, tagged Arkansas Trust Code, beneficiaries, Breach of fiduciary duties, breach of trust, conflict of interest, fiduciary, litigation, trust, trust litigation, trustee on July 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Family Member Trustees vs. Institutional Trustees
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of trustees, Rights of beneficiaries, tagged bank, beneficiaries, beneficiary, co-trustee, estate planning, family member, impartiality, institutional, removal, settlor, successor trustee, trust, trust company, trustee on April 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When a trust is formed, one of the many decisions that must be made by the “settlor” (the one who forms the trust) is who will serve as trustee. The settlor may also select multiple trustees (“co-trustees,” who serve with each other) and later (“successor”) trustees (who may serve after the original trustee can no longer serve [death, disability, etc.] [...]
Recent Articles On Alzheimer’s Disease, And Trustee/Beneficiary Relationships
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Prudent investor rule, Rights of beneficiaries, Suitability of investments, tagged Alzheimer's Disease, beneficiaries, beneficiary, dementia, estate litigation, executor, New York Times, probate litigation, trust litigation, trustee, Wall Street Journal on November 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There is not much to this post, primarily because the articles referenced below already thoroughly discuss the issues. Specifically, both articles shed light upon two common problem areas which can often eventually erupt into estate, trust and probate disputes. The first article is from the New York Times and addresses the effect of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia upon an individual’s ability [...]
Stealing From Grandma And Grandpa—Inheritance Theft
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, Misappropriation of assets, Powers of attorney, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, tagged accountant, attorney, Bob Sullivan, elder abuse, elder financial abuse, Elder Justice Act, elder law attorney, elder theft, financial abuse, financial exploitation, Huguette Clark, power of attorney, undue influence on August 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A recent lengthy but interesting series of stories (Part I and Part II) on the odd heiress, Huguette Clark, appeared to prompt a good article yesterday from Bob Sullivan, who covers Internet scams and consumer fraud for msnbc.com. Mr. Sullivan’s posting focuses upon allegations and situations involving elder financial abuse, which is a significant portion of my own law practice. I suggest that you read the [...]
Inheritance Hijackers: Who Wants To Steal Your Inheritance And How To Protect It
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, Will contests, tagged assets, beneficiary, fiduciary, inheritance, Inheritance Hijackers, inheritance theft, litigation, Protect Your Estate, Robert Adamski, trust, victim on August 6, 2010 | 1 Comment »
At the recommendation of a client, I have recently started reading a fascinating book entitled Inheritance Hijackers: Who Wants To Steal Your Inheritance And How To Protect It (Ovation Books 2009) written by a Florida attorney named Robert C. Adamski. The book is primarily written for beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries of an inheritance. Mr. Adamski’s book sets forth an extensive [...]
Removal Of A Trustee Under Arkansas Law
Posted in Accounting actions, Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, Self-dealing, tagged Arkansas Trust Code, beneficiary, breach of trust, executor, personal representative, removal on January 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
My previous blog post generally discussed principles associated with the removal of executors or personal representatives of an estate. This post is similar except that it analyzes this issue in the context of trusts rather than estates. Every trustee of a trust, and every beneficiary of a trust, should be aware of these principles as well. To [...]
UPDATED: Sentencing Time In The Ultimate Wealth War: The Astor Family Fortune
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Misappropriation of assets, Self-dealing, tagged Anthony Marshall, Astor, Brooke Astor, estate planning, law enforcement, Phillip Marshall, trust administration, wealthy, white collar crime on December 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As we are in the midst of the holiday season and families all around the world are coming together to enjoy each other’s company for a few fun-filled days (or in some cases a couple of miserable hours), it can be a little disheartening to read about (much less write about) another wealth war in the news. [...]
Avoiding Estate, Trust & Probate Litigation
Posted in Accounting actions, Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, Will contests, tagged Abraham Lincoln, beneficiaries, bypass, distribution, estate litigation, estate planning, fraud, intentions, no-contest, probate litigation, surprise, trust department, trust litigation, trusts, U.S. News, undue influence on November 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Since one of my areas of practice is estate, trust & probate litigation, it is obviously not in my economic self-interest to counsel against getting involved in this type of litigation in the first place. However, first and foremost is a lawyer’s duty to his or her client, which while sometimes involves filing or defending a [...]
