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 ‘Self-dealing’ 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 »
Mediation As An Alternative To Inheritance Litigation
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Improper investments, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, Will contests, tagged ADR, alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, confidential, court, docket, estate litigation, mediation, mediator, probate litigation, trust litigation on October 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Lawsuits are not the only way to resolve disputes, and arguably are not even the best way. Litigation can be financially expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally tolling. Especially in the context of estate, trust and probate litigation, the disputes often involve persons who know each other, including relatives, friends, and business associates. Accordingly, in addition to the expenditure of money, [...]
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 [...]
Modern Recordkeeping Fraught With Potential For Abuse When Individuals Die
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, tagged administrator, assets, computer, digital, estate planning, lawsuit, liabilities, recordkeeping on October 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
An interesting article on msnbc.com from a few days ago sheds light on how modern day estate planning probably needs to catch up with the practicalities of modern day life. Specifically, the article’s author discusses how, years ago, when an individual died the survivors typically conducted a search of the house, papers, safety deposit box, etc. in order [...]
No Breach Of Fiduciary Duty In Unique Trust Lawsuit
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of trustees, Misappropriation of assets, Recent Arkansas appeals, Self-dealing, tagged assets, Breach of fiduciary duties, encumber, mismanagement, Self-dealing, trust, trustee on October 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Arkansas Court of Appeals recently ruled in an interesting case that a trustee’s encumbrance of trust property did not, under the specific circumstances involved in the dispute, constitute a violation of the trustee’s fiduciary duties. Ordinarily such actions are looked down upon, but this case is an instance in which the unique facts involved apparently warranted a slight departure [...]
