David F. Johnson presented “Trust Issues In Divorce Proceedings” on November 17, 2021. This presentation covered trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void...more
11/22/2021
/ Beneficiaries ,
Conflict Resolution ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Family Trusts ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Spouses ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
David F. Johnson presented “Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims” to a national audience on November 16, 2021, via Strafford publishing with his co-presenter Scott E. Rahn,...more
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
11/19/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fitness for Particular Purpose ,
Power of Attorney ,
Probate ,
Probate Courts ,
Residual Clause ,
Standard of Review ,
Trustees ,
Wills
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Is There a Trustee Get Out of Jail Free Card? The Use of Exculpatory Clauses in Trust Documents in Texas” to the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts, and Estates Section on October 26,...more
In Moore v. Estate of Moore, a decedent’s wife claimed that she had an interest in an oil and gas lease formerly owned by her deceased husband. No. 07-20-00019-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6142 (Tex. App.—Amarillo July 30, 2021,...more
10/25/2021
/ Attorney-in-Fact ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Life Estates ,
Mineral Leases ,
Power of Attorney ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spouses ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Trust Remainder Beneficiaries ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wills
In Peek v. Mayfield, a beneficiary sued a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty. No. 02-20-00107-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6080 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 29, 2021, no pet.). ...more
David Johnson presented his paper entitled “Fiduciary Litigation Update 2020-2021” to the Texas Bankers Association’s Wealth Management & Trust Conference on September 30, 2021. This presentation covered recent statutory...more
10/12/2021
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctions ,
Reformation ,
Rule Against Perpetuities ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Settlement ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management
Trust beneficiaries often request a corporate trustee to prepare a statutory accounting. The Texas Trust Code in Section 113.151 provides that a beneficiary may request a written statement of accounts....more
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
8/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Corporate Dissolution ,
Estate Planning ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Liquidation ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Reversal ,
Specific Jurisdiction ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
In Bird v. Carl C. Anderson, a trust beneficiary sued a defendant for usurping a trustee’s role and breaching fiduciary duties as a de facto trustee. No. 03-21-00140-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5036 (Tex. App.—Austin June 24,...more
David F. Johnson presented “Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Trustees/Managers of Closely-Held Businesses” with Kenneth J. Fair of Wright Close & Barger, LLP, on July 22, 2021, for Strafford Webinars to a national...more
David Johnson presented his paper “The More The Merrier? Issues Arising From Co-Trustees Administering Trusts” to the State Bar of Texas’s Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course on June 9, 2021. This presentation...more
In Austin v. Mitchell, a wife filed suit alleging her ex-husband fraudulently transferred a portion of his limited partnership interest in a family limited partnership to a trust for the benefit of his children. No....more
In Austin Trust Co. v. Houren, beneficiaries of a trust executed a family settlement agreement with the trustee and the former trustee’s estate. No. 14-19-00387-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1955 (Tex. App.—Houston March 16, 2021,...more
In Marshall v. Marshall, a beneficiary sued the original trustee and five co-trustees of two trusts regarding claims that they breached fiduciary duties. No. 14-17-00930-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1949 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th...more
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, discusses in this two part series many of the interesting and complex issues that arise from trustees making trust distributions to beneficiaries. The...more
In Alexander v. Marshall, the original trustee was the beneficiary’s mother and the wife of the beneficiary’s father, who was the settlor. No. 14-18-00425-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1952 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] March...more
A recent bill 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, intentional...more
In Marshall v. Marshall, a son, who was a trust beneficiary, sued his mother and brother alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and sought a declaratory judgment that they violated an in terrorem clause of the will. No....more
In Tomlinson v. Khoury, a judgment creditor discovered that the judgment debtor was the trustee and beneficiary of a spendthrift trust and brought a turnover action to invalidate the trust. No. 01-19-00183-CV, 2020 Tex. App....more
In Ochse v. Ochse, a mother created a trust that provided that the trustee was authorized to make distributions to her son and the son’s spouse. No. 04-20-00035-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 8922 (Tex. App.—San Antonio November...more
David F. Johnson presented his paper on “Trustees’ Ability to Retain and Compensate Attorneys in Texas” to the Texas Bar Association’s Fiduciary Litigation Course on December 10, 2020. This presentation discussed a trustee’s...more
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
It is not uncommon for beneficiaries to sue a trustee for actions that the beneficiaries had knowledge of but where they failed to object to that conduct for a period of time. In this circumstance, the trustee may want to...more
This presentation will cover Texas cases dealing with fiduciary issues over the survey period. Some of the issues involve the removal of a trustee, the resignation of a trustee, the production of confidential trust...more
12/1/2020
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Beneficiaries ,
Client Communication ,
Confidential Information ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Jury Trial ,
Liability ,
Modification ,
Removal ,
Resignation ,
Right to a Jury ,
Risk Management ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trust Administration ,
Trust Protector Actions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars ,
Wills