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
This update will address the following issues: whether a party has a right to jury trial in trust modification and other similar actions, what are the standards for pretrial receivership and injunctive relief in trust...more
11/16/2023
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Beneficiaries ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Estate Claims ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Jury Trial ,
Modification ,
Probate ,
Receivership ,
Release Agreements ,
Right to a Jury ,
Trust Administration ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Webinars ,
Wills
The Texas Legislature created a statute to protect parties’ rights to freedom of speech and to petition the courts: the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001-.011....more
11/13/2023
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Free Speech ,
Injunctive Relief ,
No Contest Clause ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Safe Harbors ,
State Courts ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Trusts
In McCoy v. McCoy, trust beneficiaries (daughters) sued the trustee (father) for maintaining a claim against a third party (mother) after they notified him of their opposition under section 113.028 of the Texas Trust Code....more
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
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
10/11/2023
/ Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Court-Appointed Receivers ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Petition for Review ,
Receivership ,
Remedies ,
Statutory Construction Test ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
In Castello v. Ex’r of the Est. of Castello, the decedent died leaving a will that left his property to his wife “for life” and then to his three children by a prior marriage. No 03-22-00012-CV 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4454 (Tex....more
10/3/2023
/ Affidavits ,
Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Drafting Attorney ,
Estate Planning ,
Mental Capacity ,
Probate ,
Spouses ,
Summary Judgment ,
Testamentary Capacity ,
Wills
In Estate of Long, the plaintiff sued trustees and alleged that she was the only child of the decedent and asserted a cause of action for a will contest and a cause of action for a declaratory judgment action in which she...more
9/11/2023
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Intestacy ,
Intestate Succession ,
Jurisdiction ,
Probate ,
Residual Clause ,
Trustees ,
Will Contest ,
Wills
This presentation will take a detailed look at the attorney-client privilege between a trustee and its attorney, the scope of the privilege, the fiduciary exception that would allow beneficiaries to review communications and...more
9/8/2023
/ Advice-of-Counsel Defense ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Beneficiaries ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Fiduciary Exception ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Clients ,
Legal Ethics ,
Professional Responsibility ,
Risk Management ,
Scope of Privilege ,
Successors ,
Texas ,
Trustees ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars
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
In In re Guardianship of Delp, a brother sued his sister over her actions as their mother’s power of attorney agent. No. 02-22-00300-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3617 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 25, 2023, no pet. history)....more
In Allebach v. Gollub, the decedent had three children, and after he died, one of them filed a will contest and a claim that the decedent’s marriage to his second wife was void. No. 14-22-00272-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3469...more
8/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Marriage ,
Mental Capacity ,
Probate ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Testamentary Capacity ,
Voidable ,
Will Contest ,
Wills
In Banister v. Banister, the trial court found that a wife breached her fiduciary duty to the husband, committed fraud on the community estate, and wasted community assets. No. 03-21-00517-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4063 (Tex....more
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
In Skeels v. Suder, a departing shareholder of a law firm sued regarding the firm’s decision to redeem his shares for no consideration. No. 21-1014, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 578 (Tex. June 23, 2023). ...more
In In re Sanchez, a plaintiff filed suit against a defendant for (1) conspiracy; (2) fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud; (3) aiding and abetting/conspiracy; (4) breach of fiduciary duty; and (5) Texas Theft Liability Act...more
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
In Mittelsted v. Meriwether, the decedent changed his will and beneficiary designations on bank accounts to leave everything to his half-brother. No. 14-21-00755-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1020 (Tex. App.—Houston February 16,...more
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
6/1/2023
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Risk Management ,
Texas ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Uniform Trust Code ,
Webinars
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
In In re Estate of Montemayor, a buyer sued a seller regarding five real estate contracts. No. 09-21-00054-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1174 (Tex. App.—Beaumont May 13, 2022, no pet. history). ...more
David F. Johnson presented to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on May 4, 2023, on the topic of “Trust Issues in Divorce Proceedings.” This program discussed some of the many trust issues that arise in divorce...more
5/9/2023
/ Beneficiaries ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Fraud ,
Marriage ,
Spouses ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Uniform Trust Code
David F. Johnson participated in a panel presentation entitled “The Baby-Boomer Generation & The Largest Succession of Wealth in History: The New Frontier in Asset Recovery?” for the Offshore Alert Miami Conference on April...more
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
5/5/2023
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Contract Terms ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
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