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Estate Planning › Appeals › Trustees

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +
Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process.  less -
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

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

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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

Offit Kurman

Trustee's Standing in Estate Distribution: A Legal Analysis of Estate of Barry Tarlow

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In a groundbreaking decision that could reshape the landscape of California estate law, the Court of Appeal in the Second District Division Four has ruled in favor of trustee David Henry Simon, affirming his right to seek a...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

What is a Special Fiduciary and When Can the Probate Court Appoint One?

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The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that considered the scope of the probate court’s ability to appoint a special fiduciary. In re Trueman Harrison and Modesta Harrison Trust, No 368031, 2025 WL 272281...more

Winstead PC

Court Rules That There Is No Right To A Jury Trial In A Trust Modification Suit And Affirms The Modifications Of A Trust

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First Appellate Decision. In In re Troy S. Poe Trust, a co-trustee of a trust filed suit to modify the trust to increase the number of trustees and change the method for trustees to vote on issues as well as other...more

Downey Brand LLP

Blast from the Past – Trusts Subject to Medi-Cal Reimbursement

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We begin the year with a case, Riverside County Public Guardian v. Snukst (2022) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, involving an elder with dementia who received Medi-Cal benefits. The case, a blast from the past, illustrates how the...more

Lathrop GPM

Minnesota Court of Appeals Upholds Settlor’s Intent, Rejects Beneficiary’s Petition to Modify Trust and Receive Attorney Fees

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In an opinion released last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a petition to modify the terms of a trust to allow for the early distribution of trust assets to the beneficiaries. The court also denied the...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Probate Court Had Jurisdiction Over Inter Vivos Trust Dispute And That A Beneficiary Waived A Complaint About A...

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In Goepp v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., the settlors created inter vivos trusts and their three children were the remainder beneficiaries. No. 03-19-00485-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5461 (Tex. App.—Austin July 9, 2021, no pet....more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Decision That Executor Applicant Was Unsuitable For That Position

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In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more

Winstead PC

Texas Court Does Not Have Personal Jurisdiction Over A Trustee Of A Trust With Texas Timber Rights

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In JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Campbell, a member of a limited partnership sued other partners, including a trustee of a trust, to dissolve the partnership. No. 09-20-00161-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5001 (Tex. App.—Beaumont...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Trustee Had The Power To Sell Trust Property To An Affiliate, Though Such An Act May Be In Breach Of A Duty

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In Pense v. Bennett, the ward in a guardianship proceeding sued to invalidate the sale of real property from a trust created for his benefit to an affiliate of the trustee. No. 06-20-00030-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 8002 (Tex....more

Winstead PC

Court Had Jurisdiction To Declare That The Majority Of Co-Trustees Had The Authority To Sell Trust Property And The Declaration...

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In Duncan v. O’Shea, three co-trustees brought a declaratory judgment action against a fourth co-trustee, seeking a declaration that the sale of trust real property was valid over the objection of the fourth co-trustee. No....more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

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Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039. Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first...more

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

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Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Winstead PC

Co-Trustees Can Sue To Remove A Co-Trustee Due To Hostility

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In Ramirez v. Rodriguez, three co-trustees sued a fourth trustee to have him removed due to his hostile actions: he “has engaged in a pattern of creating hostility and friction that impedes and/or affects the operations of...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Arbitration Clause Held Not Enforceable as to the Validity of the Trust Amendment

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There has been considerable discussion regarding including arbitration clauses in estate planning documents over recent years. Some estate and trust attorneys are actively pushing for the inclusion of such clauses. Recently,...more

Winstead PC

Court Rules Against Trustee’s Right to a Jury Trial Where the Trustee Agreed To A Summary Proceeding

Winstead PC on

In Lavizadeh v. Moghadam, a trustee purchased real estate and then had a dispute with a guarantor. No. 05-18-00955-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 10835 (Tex. App.—Dallas December 13, 2019, no pet. history). The trial court ruled...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Trustees Beware: Provide Timely Information to Beneficiaries

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Individual trustees often fail to fulfill the duties imposed on trustees, not only by the trust instrument, by also by the trust statutes applicable in the jurisdiction. It is often the case that the individual trustee is a...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Trustee Has To Serve Until Properly Replaced

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In Waldron v. Susan R. Winking Trust, a daughter was a beneficiary of a trust set up by her parents. No. 12-18-00026-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 5867 (Tex. App.—Tyler July 10, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Winstead PC

In A Suit To Reform A Trust, A Texas Court Holds That There Was A Fact Issue On The Settlors’ Intent And Remanded For A Fact...

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In In re Ignacio G. & Myra A. Gonzales Trust, a couple formed a trust and named their daughter as the trustee. No. 06-19-00014-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 4648 (Tex. App.—Texarkana June 6, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Indiana Court of Appeals Opinion Reminds Trustees to Be Transparent and Careful in Accountings

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When more than $250,000 was missing from a final trust and estate accounting, a beneficiary objected. But the trial court approved the accounting and closed the estate. A unanimous panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter – June 2019

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The Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter compiles recent Trust & Estate cases. Our lawyers are at the forefront of this area of the law, shaping how it is handled in the Probate and Family Court. Goulston & Storrs is the...more

Downey Brand LLP

Fore! California Court Drives Away Claim that Trustee’s Attorney Breached Trust

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When attorneys advise errant trustees, how vulnerable are they to breach of trust claims by injured beneficiaries? A case published last week by the California Court of Appeal provides a defensive roadmap to attorneys who are...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Supreme Court - March 27, 2018

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Hall v. Hall, No. 16-1150: Petitioner Elsa Hall and respondent Samuel Hall are siblings litigating against each other in two consolidated cases surrounding the management of their mother’s property and estate. One of the...more

Downey Brand LLP

Constructive Trusts Can Catch Wayward Trust Assets

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Trustees in California trust disputes should not overlook the power of the constructive trust remedy as a way to recover errant trust assets. That’s a takeaway from Higgins v. Higgins (2017) __ Cal.App.5th __, an opinion in a...more

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