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
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
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
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
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
In In re John O. Yates Trust, a trustee of a trust filed suit to obtain declarations on whether it could sell certain real estate held in the trust, and if so, whether the proceeds should be designated as principal. No....more
A recent bill (H.B. 1552) has been submitted that would provide a trustee release relief for transactions described in an accounting where a beneficiary fails to timely object to the accounting and there is no fraud,...more
David Johnson will present on fiduciary cases from Texas courts from the summer of 2021 to the summer of 2022. This presentation will address the right to a jury trial for trust claims, the statute of limitations for claims...more
In In re Guardianship of Margol, a mother named her son as her power of attorney agent and as a trustee of a trust in which she was a beneficiary. No. 05-21-00255-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 4119 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 16, 2022,...more
It is common for wills or trusts to provide that the fiduciary has the right to construe the document. For example, a provision may state that the fiduciary shall resolve any question regarding the construction,...more
David Johnson presented his paper on “The More The Merrier: Issues Arising From Co-Trustees Managing Trusts” to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on September 16, 2022. This presentation addressed the benefits and...more
David Johnson presented his paper on “Fiduciary Compensation and Forfeiture” to the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel fall legal conference on September 15, 2022, in Fort Worth, Texas. David addressed a fiduciary’s duty...more
Settlors often place some or all of the ownership in a closely-held business in a trust. A trustee managing a trust with an interest in a closely held business has difficult management issues to address and this often raises...more
8/10/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Beneficiaries ,
Best Practices ,
Breach of Duty ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Co-Trustees ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Controlling Person ,
Directed Trustees ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Ownership Interest ,
Risk Management ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars
David F. Johnson presented “Advising Trustees Who Manage Closely-Held Business Interest” to the WealthCounsel webinar on June 30, 2022. Settlors often place some or all of the ownership in a closely-held business in a trust....more
In In re Poe Trust, there were three co-trustees of a trust, and the trust required them to act jointly. No. 20-0179, 2022 Tex. LEXIS 548 (Tex. June 17, 2022)....more
In In re Bumstead Irrevocable Trust, beneficiaries of a trust sued a trustee for various causes of action and sought, and obtained, orders suspending his powers as trustee, appointing a receiver, and ordering him to prepare...more
This presentation covers trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void a trust, conflict of interest issues raised by the same attorney drafting both spouse’s...more
4/21/2022
/ Closely Held Businesses ,
Co-Trustees ,
Community Property ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Separate Property ,
Settlors ,
Spouses ,
Trust Administration ,
Trust Assets ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Webinars
In Estate of Erwin, a husband died leaving some property to his wife and creating two trusts, naming his wife as the trustee and beneficiary with his children as remainder beneficiaries. No. 13-20-00301-CV, 2021 Tex. App....more
In Clark v. Clark, two brothers sued a third brother regarding the third brother’s ability to be trustee of a trust due to a traumatic brain injury. No. 14-19-00604-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 9866 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th...more
In MBM Family Trust No. 1 v. GE Oil & Gas, LLC, a plaintiff filed suit against a defendant and his companies to domesticate a foreign judgment. No. 05-20-01103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7698 (Tex. App.—Dallas September 17,...more
In Wells Fargo, N.A. v. Clower, a trustee filed suit for declaratory relief regarding its discretion to make income distributions. No. 02-20-00058-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7675 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth September 16, 2021, no...more
This presentation will address the various issues that arise when a trustee enters into a self-interested transaction with the trust. Among other issues, it will address the duty of loyalty, the presumption of unfairness,...more
2/17/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Consent Agreements ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Release Agreements ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Dealing ,
Self-Interest ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars
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
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