If you have a bad Trustee who mismanaged assets, misappropriated them, or just stole them, you may be wondering how to find the money. That is a good question, and not always easy to answer. Of course, much depends on how the money was taken, or whether the money was ever part of the Trust to begin […]
There are a few exceptions to a Trustee’s duty to provide you with a Trust accounting no matter what type of beneficiary you happen to be. Where the Trust Document Waives an Accounting. If the Trust document waives an accounting, then a Trustee does not have to provide an accounting. This is an important exception, so […]
You are entitled to an accounting…maybe…depends. The truth is some beneficiaries are entitled to an accounting as a matter of right, while other beneficiaries may obtain an accounting at the discretion of the Court, but not as a matter of right. Right to Reasonable Information For starters, all beneficiaries are entitled to reasonable information from the […]
Being named a successor Trustee does not necessarily obligate you to take action. While it is true that Trustees have a host of duties and responsibilities, those duties don’t arise until a Trustee agrees to act. Being named a successor Trustee in a Trust document does not obligate that person to act. If, however, the successor Trustee either […]
Unique Nature of Trust Ownership It all comes down to the unique nature of Trusts. When a person creates a Trust they are effectively separating the legal ownership from the beneficial ownership of the assets. We don’t usually think about these two different aspects of ownership because, in every other context, they are one in the […]
This is it! Our finale Trust and Will myth, and it may be the biggest, most damaging, myth of them all. Can you be disinherited for challenging the Trustee’s management decisions? Watch this video to find out more.
Will your Trustee be subject to criminal prosecution for failing to follow the Trust terms or Trust law? Probably not, but then again…. In this video we discuss whether the actions of your Trustee are criminal.
Why are lawsuits so time consuming and complicated? Can’t we just tell the Judge what the truth of the matter is, or just write the judge a letter? Well no, no you can’t. That’s because of our Constitutional right to due process of law. Due process is a fancy term that means everyone must be […]
So who is in charge of overseeing your Trustee if that person chooses to violate the law and breach his or her fiduciary duties? Surely there is some governmental agency that will step in and hold that bad Trustee accountable…isn’t there? The truth is that there is no governmental authority that oversees that acts of […]
In its simplest form, a Trust is merely the holding of money by a person for the benefit of someone else. When a friend hands you his wallet until he gets back, a Trust is formed. Trusts cannot be formed without property transferring from the hands of the owner to the hands of the Trustee. […]
