Winstead Shareholder David F. Johnson participated in a panel presentation entitled “When One Is Not Enough: Dividing Fiduciary Powers and Dispositions” for the State Bar of Texas’s 29th Advanced Estate Planning Strategies on...more
In In the Est. of Lemme, an administratrix of an estate hired her boyfriend to do legal work. No. 07-21-00300-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8829 (Tex. App.—Amarillo December 1, 2022, no pet. history). ...more
In Austin Trust Co. v. Houren, beneficiaries of a trust executed a family settlement agreement with the former trustee’s estate. No. 21-0355, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 285 (Tex. March 23, 2023)....more
In In re McIntire, trust beneficiaries sued a trustee for multiple allegations of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 07-22-00249-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 60 (Tex. App.—Amarillo January 5, 2023, original proceeding)....more
The Court noted that a claim generally accrues when the defendant’s wrongful conduct causes the claimant to suffer a legal injury. Id. The Court also noted that the discovery rule can defer accrual of limitations...more
In Donnelly v. Donnelly, a widow sued her deceased husband’s son for failing to change the beneficiary designation on the husband’s IRA to name her. No. 14-21-00592-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 7615 (Tex. App.—Houston October 13,...more
1/17/2023
/ Affidavits ,
Beneficiaries ,
Beneficiary Designations ,
Breach of Duty ,
Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Summary Judgment ,
Testimony ,
Widows
In Dunn v. Chappelle (In re Alta Mesa Res., Inc.), a bankruptcy trustee sued the officers and directors of a limited partnership and related entities for operating a drilling program despite having lower than expected...more
David Johnson will present on fiduciary cases from Texas courts from the summer of 2021 to the summer of 2022. This presentation will address the right to a jury trial for trust claims, the statute of limitations for claims...more
It is common for wills or trusts to provide that the fiduciary has the right to construe the document. For example, a provision may state that the fiduciary shall resolve any question regarding the construction,...more
In In re Eisenbise, the parties, a mother and son, argued about a trial court’s order requiring an executrix to produce certain documents pursuant to her duty to provide initial disclosures in a dispute concerning the...more
David Johnson presented his paper on “The More The Merrier: Issues Arising From Co-Trustees Managing Trusts” to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on September 16, 2022. This presentation addressed the benefits and...more
David Johnson presented his paper on “Fiduciary Compensation and Forfeiture” to the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel fall legal conference on September 15, 2022, in Fort Worth, Texas. David addressed a fiduciary’s duty...more
In In re Mijares, a plaintiff claimed that a defendant defrauded him and breached fiduciary duties owed to him by charging improper, excessive, and unauthorized expenses to their medical practice, causing the...more
8/30/2022
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Disputes ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Fraud ,
Fraud ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Members ,
Partnerships ,
Shareholder Distributions
In Trench Tech Int’l, Inc. v. Tech Con Trenching, Inc., the son of an owner of a company, who was an employee, downloaded design plans and other information and went to another company who used that information. No....more
Settlors often place some or all of the ownership in a closely-held business in a trust. A trustee managing a trust with an interest in a closely held business has difficult management issues to address and this often raises...more
8/10/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Beneficiaries ,
Best Practices ,
Breach of Duty ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Co-Trustees ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Controlling Person ,
Directed Trustees ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Ownership Interest ,
Risk Management ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars
David F. Johnson presented “Advising Trustees Who Manage Closely-Held Business Interest” to the WealthCounsel webinar on June 30, 2022. Settlors often place some or all of the ownership in a closely-held business in a trust....more
In Ahmed v. Bank of Whittier, a party sued a bank for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty by assisting the plaintiff’s attorney in improperly depositing settlement funds. No. 05-21-00058-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2987...more
In Power v. Power, one brother sued the other brother for breach of fiduciary duty related to their partnership in real estate investing. No. 05-19-01557-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2926 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 3, 2022, no pet....more
In In re Estate of Poe, shortly before his death, Dick, who was the sole director of Poe Management, Inc. (PMI), authorized the corporation to issue new shares that he bought for $3.2 million. No. 20-0178, 2022 Tex. LEXIS 544...more
In In re Estate of Poe, shortly before his death, Dick, who was the sole director of Poe Management, Inc. (PMI), authorized the corporation to issue new shares that he bought for $3.2 million. No. 20-0178, 2022 Tex. LEXIS 544...more
It is not uncommon for an attorney to execute all or part of his or her client’s wishes, which may be in breach of a fiduciary duty owed by the client to a third party. The third party can certainly sue the client for...more
In Ahlgren v. Ahlgren, the plaintiff asserted that the defendant breached fiduciary duties by taking assets held in trust for the plaintiff’s father. No. 13-22-00029-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2843 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi...more
Author David F. Johnson recently presented his paper on “Undue Influence, Detecting Elder Abuse, and the Duty to Report Financial Exploitation” to the Austin Probate Bar Association in Austin, Texas, on May 20, 2022. This...more
5/27/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Diminished Capacity ,
Durable Power of Attorney ,
Elder Abuse ,
Elder Issues ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Abuse ,
Financial Crimes ,
Investment Adviser ,
Undue Influence Claims
The Texas Legislature recently enacted a new law that criminalizes the financial abuse of the elderly. This is in response to the increasing financial attacks on the elderly....more
In Hussion St. Bldgs., LLC v. TRW Eng’rs, Inc., the plaintiff landowner claimed its real property was injured by the failure of an engineering firm involved in developing the adjoining property to include a water-detention...more