TRUST LITIGATION ATTORNEYS

What is trust litigation

Trust litigation refers to legal actions regarding trust management that may be brought by trustees, beneficiaries or outside parties. Lawsuits often arise due to breaches in fiduciary duties; undue influence, disagreements among trustees and beneficiaries; or issues caused by third-parties who impact assets or terms held within a trust. Their goal is usually conflict resolution as well as compliance with legal requirements in terms of its purpose and requirements for operation of the trust.

Trust litigation may even be between co-trustees, in that they cannot get along. The Trustee(s) have a fiduciary duty and obligation to keep beneficiaries informed, stay transparent, and is responsible for distributing and administering assets in the Trust to beneficiaries as per trust terms.

Yes, trust and business law law can be confusing. In most cases, disagreements about the rights to Trust agreements do happen. You will mostly see entities arguing over the legal matters regarding their privileges to a Trust with ambiguous terms in it. Sometimes it even takes probate court and sometimes civil court to get the legal authority issue resolved.

What is a Trust litigator?

A Trust litigation lawyer is able to advocate on behalf of beneficiaries and trustees to assist them in obtaining or maintaining the inheritance they’re entitled.

Note: A trust litigator can help the heirs of deceased people (like children) might be entitled to receive a trust’s inheritance even if they’re in no way named beneficiaries. Trust lawyers can assist beneficiaries assert their rights.

If you see a potential litigation looming, contact Hess-Verdon at 1-888-318-4430 to discuss undue influence, coercion, false records, real property, trust assets, estate law, elder abuse, and other estate litigation matters.

Why Choose a Litigation Attorney vs. a Trust lawyer

A trust litigator is described as a trust lawyer who is skilled in handling trust and estate disputes between trustees or beneficiaries. A trust litigation attorney is essential when trustees or beneficiaries feel denied their legal rights. A trust litigator will review the Trustee’s fiduciary duty and, if retained, give legal counsel. The objective is to complete the trust administration process.

If you have issues concerning a Trust, build an attorney-client relationship with experienced trust litigation attorneys and seek legal representation from a Hess-Verdon litigation attorney, to understand the probate law process. An experienced Trust litigation attorney will help analyze and make specific ownership elements in the contested Trust.

When Should I Hire a Trust Litigation attorney

Trust litigation lawyers come in when an issue with Trust leads to litigation. A trust litigation attorney can help both Trustee and beneficiaries resolve when disputes arise involving a beloved’s Trust.

But you cannot just challenge a trust because its terms are not favorable to you. See, there are four legal causes to contest a Trust in California. These include the following:

Fraud (Stealing from a Trust): Fraud is a breach of fiduciary duty and can be discovered via forensics. Another term is self-dealing. Trust accountings will be at the forefront of how a court determines a breach of fiduciary duties.

Undue influence: (Elder Abuse) When one person can or can influence another’s decision, it is called undue influence. One party may have a higher status, more education, or stronger emotional connections that put them in a position to influence the other. The stronger person uses this advantage to coerce another individual into making bad decisions.

Incapacity: physical or mental inability to do something or to manage one’s affairs.

Violation of state law: It is essential to find lawyers that are well versed in trust litigation to uncover state law violations.

Here, therefore, are examples of scenarios that could do with the help of a probate litigation attorney.

What does a trust litigation lawyer do?

A trust litigation attorney helps to understand if you have a case either to go after or against you. A trust litigation attorney will review the fiduciary duty of the Trustee accused and determine if there is a legitimate legal challenge. Due to poorly written estate plans or outdated plans, trust and estate disputes are rising.

What is a Trust?

A Trust is an agreement where one party holds the other’s property’s legal title for a third party’s advantage. Once the grantor dies, trust administration commences.

It is a three-party fiduciary relationship involving:

• The ‘grantor’ is the person who creates the Trust and transfers the title of their property to the Trustee.

• The ‘Trustee’ and co-trustee is the person or entity that receives the legal titles and manages and administers the Trust.

• The beneficiaries are the people who benefit from the property in Trust. It can be anyone, from the grantor, their dependents, and even the Trustee.

Types of Trust funds

There are many types of trust funds, including Credit Shelter Trust Generation-Skipping Trust, Qualified Personal Residence Trust, Insurance Trust, separate Share Trust, and Charitable Trust. These can be categorized as revocable trusts or irrevocable trusts, funded or unfunded, Living or Testamentary.

In a revocable trust, the grantor controls the assets and can change the Trust anytime. On the other hand, an irrevocable trust can’t be changed once created. A funded trust receives funding from the grantor, while an unfunded trust is just made up of the agreement; funds can start coming after the grantor’s death. A living trust provides for the grantor until they die, after which it goes to their beneficiaries.

Reasons why people create Trusts

There are many different motives why people use Trusts. They are used to provide the grantor’s assets with legal protection, ensuring they are shared according to their wishes. Trusts help save time, avoid probate, reduce paperwork, and avoid or pay less estate tax. A Trust can also be used to maintain privacy by buying a property through a Trust so that your name won’t appear in the property’s public records.

But as already mentioned, a Trust agreement is not always straightforward. When the grantor creates the Trust, they sign a document called the Trust deed stating the transfer of legal titles, the beneficiaries, and the property in Trust.

Depending on the Trust’s wording, contentions are likely to arise when one or more parties feel the Trust can be interpreted differently. Sometimes, parties involved in the Trust can solve their issues outside of the court; other times, it takes a court’s ruling to resolve disputes involving Trusts.

What is a trust dispute?

Trust litigation is contesting or defending a Trust in court due to undue influence, for example. While Trusts are created to avoid probate, it does not stop the grantor’s children from bringing legal action against the Trustee in court to get the Trust set aside for various reasons or compel the Trustee to pay due to breach of fiduciary duty.

One example of a Trust litigation situation is when a child beneficiary comes of age and discovers that an uncle who became their Trustee, early on when their parent died, took money from the Trust for his use, didn’t charge interest, and wasn’t financially sound. No matter when this inappropriate borrowing happened, the child could take the uncle to court for breaching his fiduciary duty.

With more and more Californians using Trusts for various reasons, trust litigation cases are on the rise. Most people lack enough experience as either beneficiaries or Trustees, and often, errors are made, leading to litigation. And unlike other litigation bound by the statute of limitation, Trust litigation can happen anytime, even after the party being sued is long dead.

Common Trust litigation scenarios include:

• Lack of capacity or Undue Influence or tortious interference with a testamentary expectancy when beneficiaries contest recent amendments in a Trust.

• Accounting, especially when beneficiaries feel deprived of complete or accurate information concerning assets in Trust.

• Financial elder abuse: When siblings are certain a parent wouldn’t give 100% of the estate, for example to one sibling, and especially if the trust was amended days for months before the death of the settlor, it raises suspicions, which can mean they were unduly influenced.

• Trustee’s duty: When a Trustee is sued for self-dealing and breaching their fiduciary duty to beneficiaries; for example, unless the Trust deed says that you can sell a property in your Trust, selling it could be a violation of your fiduciary responsibility to beneficiaries. Find a trust litigation attorney to cover this topic in full to ensure you stay compliant with probate law.

• Court Approval: when a trustee petitions the court to help with instructions on carrying out a particular transaction.

Can you sue a trust?

Depending on the terms of the Trust agreement, most disagreements find their way in the court of law, with beneficiaries seeking to get the Trust set aside, the Trustee removed, account for all funds spent, and pay for damages. Some Trusts documents state how disputes are to be resolved.

The Trustee re-joins in the court, and because they’re personally liable to beneficiaries, they have to defend themselves personally. After discovery, a trial can proceed. Trust litigation can take many years and cost a lot of money. The suing beneficiaries can attempt to get the Trust under a temporary fiduciary during the duration until the case is determined.

In most cases, the Trustee will pay for the legal defense to protect the Trust from trust assets. Beneficiaries will often object, but most courts allow but with the condition that the Trustee pays back the money if they’re found in the wrong. Of course, the primary evidence guidelines apply like in other court cases. Usually, one has no right to a jury, but exemptions can be made.

Most trust disputes are family fights involving deep emotions and misgivings rather than substantial evidence of wrongdoing. Always think twice before getting into trust litigation.

In case you need help concerning Trust issues, we can provide support. We are California-based trust litigation attorneys with experience representing both trustees and beneficiaries. Contact us today to talk over the concerns you have about your Trust and find out how we can help.

Reasons why people create Trusts

There are many different motives why people use Trusts. They are used to provide the grantor’s assets with legal protection, ensuring they are shared according to their wishes. Trusts help save time, avoid probate, reduce paperwork, and avoid or pay less estate tax. A Trust can also be used to maintain privacy by buying a property through a Trust so that your name won’t appear in the property’s public records.

But as already mentioned, a Trust agreement is not always straightforward. When the grantor creates the Trust, they sign a document called the Trust deed stating the transfer of legal titles, the beneficiaries, and the property in Trust.

Depending on the Trust’s wording, contentions are likely to arise when one or more parties feel the Trust can be interpreted differently. Sometimes, parties involved in the Trust can solve their issues outside of the court; other times, it takes a court’s ruling to resolve disputes involving Trusts.

What is a trust dispute?

Trust litigation is contesting or defending a Trust in court due to undue influence, for example. While Trusts are created to avoid probate, it does not stop the grantor’s children from bringing legal action against the Trustee in court to get the Trust set aside for various reasons or compel the Trustee to pay due to breach of fiduciary duty.

One example of a Trust litigation situation is when a child beneficiary comes of age and discovers that an uncle who became their Trustee, early on when their parent died, took money from the Trust for his use, didn’t charge interest, and wasn’t financially sound. No matter when this inappropriate borrowing happened, the child could take the uncle to court for breaching his fiduciary duty.

With more and more Californians using Trusts for various reasons, trust litigation cases are on the rise. Most people lack enough experience as either beneficiaries or Trustees, and often, errors are made, leading to litigation. And unlike other litigation bound by the statute of limitation, Trust litigation can happen anytime, even after the party being sued is long dead.

Common Trust litigation scenarios include:

• Lack of capacity or Undue Influence or tortious interference with a testamentary expectancy when beneficiaries contest recent amendments in a Trust.
• Accounting, especially when beneficiaries feel deprived of complete or accurate information concerning assets in Trust.
• Trustee’s duty: When a Trustee is sued for self-dealing and breaching their fiduciary duty to beneficiaries; for example, unless the Trust deed says that you can sell a property in your Trust, selling it could be a violation of your fiduciary responsibility to beneficiaries.
• Court Approval: when a trustee petitions the court to help with instructions on carrying out a particular transaction.

Can you sue a trust?

Depending on the terms of the Trust agreement, most disagreements find their way in the court of law, with beneficiaries seeking to get the Trust set aside, the Trustee removed, account for all funds spent, and pay for damages. Some Trusts documents state how disputes are to be resolved.

The Trustee re-joins in the court, and because they’re personally liable to beneficiaries, they have to defend themselves personally. After discovery, a trial can proceed. Trust litigation can take many years and cost a lot of money. The suing beneficiaries can attempt to get the Trust under a temporary fiduciary during the duration until the case is determined.

In most cases, the Trustee will pay for the legal defense to protect the Trust from trust assets. Beneficiaries will often object, but most courts allow but with the condition that the Trustee pays back the money if they’re found in the wrong. Of course, the primary evidence guidelines apply like in other court cases. Usually, one has no right to a jury, but exemptions can be made.

Most trust litigation cases are family fights involving deep emotions and misgivings rather than substantial evidence of wrongdoing. Always think twice before getting into trust litigation.

In case you need help concerning Trust issues, we can provide support. We are California-based trust litigation attorneys with experience representing both trustees and beneficiaries. Contact us today to talk over the concerns you have about your Trust and find out how we can help.

Why You Should Consider Hiring Hess-Verdon Trust Litigation Attorneys

At Hess-Verdon, we work diligently to assist individuals, families, fiduciaries, and organizations in comprehending trust documents by providing services to the following clients:

• Trustees

• Beneficiaries

• Individuals and families

• Banks

• Trust Companies

• Charitable entities

• Family Offices

• Corporate Fiduciaries

• Corporate Trustees

• Business Owners

Our team at Hess-Verdon specializes in guiding clients through various aspects of probate litigation, such as investigating potential claims, evaluating the trust document, assessing the merits of pursuing a claim, filing or defending a claim, and, when necessary, litigating a lawsuit through trial or settlement.

Our expert trust litigation team is often able to resolve disputes by removing a trustee or multiple trustees and settling proceedings without going to trial. This is achieved by considering the merits of the positions presented by the respective parties and applying the relevant tax rules.

Rest assured that the Hess-Verdon team is here to support beneficiaries. Unlike some other law firms, we are a full-service firm with extensive experience handling thousands of probate and trust litigation cases. This allows us to identify and implement the critical steps required for your case. Contact us now at 888-318-4430.