News & Analysis as of

Breach of Duty Beneficiaries Estate Planning

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Kositzka v. Fick: Key Lessons on Trustee Fiduciary Duty in Virginia Trusts

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals of Virginia upheld a lower court’s ruling that Kositzka, Wicks and Company (KWC) breached its fiduciary duty to Edward Joseph Ryan, awarding his estate $999,050 in damages, attorney...more

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University...

When Hostilities Break Out Between Co-trustees, Where Does That Leave Trust Counsel?

When hostilities break out between individual co-trustees, incumbent trust counsel faces a representation conundrum. In §8.8 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2025), see appendix below, we grapple with the...more

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University...

Individual Trustee Delegates to Financial Institution the Job of Taking Custody and Keeping Track of Income and Principal: The...

While PC software programs are a practical improvement over the trustee’s hard-copy ledger book, when it comes to keeping track of trust income and principal these programs still require serious clerical monitoring on the...more

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

Judgment Secured in Case Alleging Mismanagement of Artist's Trust

A five-year legal dispute between heirs of the renowned artist Thomas Hart Benton and the trust department that administered and managed the Benton Trust produced a significant ruling last month in Jackson County, Missouri...more

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University...

Due to scrivener negligence, the dispositive provisions of a trust fail to reflect the deceased settlor’s wishes: Can it be that...

Assume the deceased settlor of a trust had intended that his niece be included in the beneficiary class, but his estate-planning attorney had negligently made no provision for her in the governing instrument. After settlor’s...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Tips for Trustees: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims

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For many clients, the inclusion of revocable and/or irrevocable trusts as part of their overall estate plan is an important feature. Revocable trusts can allow for probate avoidance and estate tax planning, whereas...more

Winstead PC

Texas Supreme Court Reverses Order In Trust Dispute Granting A Constructive Trust

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In In re Trust A & Trust C, a beneficiary sued a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty and sought a constructive trust over assets that were transferred out of the trust. 690 S.W.3d 80 (Tex. 2024)....more

Downey Brand LLP

No Such Thing as a Free Ride: Section 859 Awards Can Now Go To Whoever Does the Work

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Newcomers to probate litigation are frequently surprised by how differently things work in probate court, as opposed to your more straightforward civil courts. (And how do those newcomers know how civil courts work?  Law &...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed The Removal Of An Executor For Gross Mismanagement

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In Gordon v. Gordon, a couple created a revocable trust and named a friend, who provided financial advice, as successor trustee. No. 03-22-00454-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3611 (Tex. App.—Austin May 23, 2024, no pet. history)....more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Award Of Damages And Punitive Damages Against A Trustee Due To A Breach Of The Duty To Disclose, Held That A Trust...

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In Mendell v. Scott, a decedent had a trust that named him as primary beneficiary, and upon his death, the trust would continue for a niece provided that she did not commit a prohibited act. No. 01-20-00578-CV, 2023 Tex. App....more

Winstead PC

Court Held That The TCPA Does Not Apply To Claim Involving Texas Trust Code Section 113.28 And Suits Against Third Parties

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In McCoy v. McCoy, trust beneficiaries sued the trustee for breaching his fiduciary duties by pursing claims against a third party when they instructed him not to do so. No. 08-23-00119-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 6604 (Tex....more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Do Estate Beneficiaries Have a Default Right to Live in Estate Property Rent Free Until the Property is Distributed?

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No, according to In re Estate of Elze D. Harris, Docket No. 362364 (September 28, 2023). In Estate of Harris, the decedent’s three children were embroiled in litigation over who should control their deceased father’s...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Receivership In Trust Case Based Solely On An Alleged Failure To Disclose And Did Not Require Traditional Equitable...

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In Moody Nat’l Bank v. Moody, a beneficiary sued a trustee regarding several allegations of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 14-21-00096-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 7844 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] October 25, 2022, pet....more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Lawyers for the...

Different Outcomes for Two Law Firms in Legal Malpractice Case Confirm That Lawyers Representing Estate Administrator Do Not Owe a...

Brief Summary - The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that a law firm representing the administrator in estate proceedings did not owe a duty to a beneficiary of the estate, and the...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Finding Of An Oral Trust And Breach Of Duty By The Trustee

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In Ahlgren v. Ahlgren, plaintiffs sued a defendant alleging that the defendant was a trustee of an oral trust who breached duties by refusing to return certain property. No. 13-22-00029-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4182 (Tex....more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Temporary Injunction Precluding A Surviving Spouse From Acting As Trustee Of A Trust

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In Kirkland v. Kirkland, a husband and wife created a revocable trust. No. 02-22-00469-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3598 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 25, 2023, no pet. history)....more

Winstead PC

A Trustees Duties to Disclose - Presentation

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David F. Johnson will address the complex issues surrounding a trustee’s duty to disclose and will compare Texas law and the Uniform Trust Code on this topic. He will address disclosure requirements under trust documents and...more

Winstead PC

Court Discusses Holding An Executor In Contempt For Commingling Property

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In In re Mittelsted, a trial court held a former executor in contempt for over twenty acts of commingling personal property with estate property and ordered that the executor pay over $200,000 to avoid contempt. No....more

McGuireWoods LLP

Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries: May 2023

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In the most recent installment of the McGuireWoods Fiduciary Advisory Services annual multipart series on recent fiduciary cases, developments in the law concerning various topics are examined through the following... ...more

Winstead PC

Texas Supreme Court Holds That The Incorporation Of AAA Rules Can Delegate Scope Issues To The Arbitrator, Which May or May Not...

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The Texas Supreme Court held that arbitration clauses in trust documents may be enforced regarding claims by beneficiaries against trustees. In Rachal v. Reitz, a beneficiary sued a trustee for failing to provide an...more

Winstead PC

Court Reversed Summary Judgment Against Trustee Where Beneficiary’s Affidavit Evidence Was Conclusory

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In McEndree v. Volke, a beneficiary sued a trustee, her former step father, for breaching fiduciary duties. No. 11-19-00351-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7856 (Tex. App.—Eastland September 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more

Freeman Law

Does an Executor Breach Their Fiduciary Duty By Failing to Disclose Facts to Beneficiaries?

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A fiduciary’s failure to disclose material facts to beneficiaries may violate their fiduciary duties.  A recent Texas court’s decision outlines the fiduciary’s risks that come with the obligation to disclose....more

Winstead PC

Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims - Presentation

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David F. Johnson presented “Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims” to a national audience on November 16, 2021, via Strafford publishing with his co-presenter Scott E. Rahn,...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That An Executor May Breach Duties In Making A Non-Pro Rata Distribution Of Assets

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In In re Estate of Stewart, siblings filed claims regarding the administration of their father’s estate. No. 04-20-00103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 3897 (Tex. App.—San Antonio May 19, 2021, no pet. history)....more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Summary Judgment For Successor Trustees Due To A Clause Stating That They Had No Duty To Investigate Former...

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In Benge v. Roberts, a beneficiary sued co-trustees and sought to remove them for breaching duties by not considering claims against a former trustee. No. 03-19-00719-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 6335 (Tex. App.—Austin August 12,...more

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