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
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
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
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
In In the Interest of Riley Family Revocable Trust, a trustee filed suit for a declaration regarding who takes in the distribution of remaining trust property. No. 13-20-00084-CV 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5839 (Tex. App.—Corpus...more
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 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
The Texas Legislatures recently passed a bill that takes effect on September 1, 2021 that extends the rule against perpetuities to 300 years for trusts. The Legislature forwarded the bill (HB 654) to the governor on May 20,...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
In Maxey v. Maxey, in a dispute that arose from the probate of an estate, two sisters mediated and reached a settlement agreement concerning the division of certain real property. No. 01-19-00078-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
In Ackers v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., an income beneficiary sued a trustee for a declaration regarding the construction of a testamentary trust. No. 11-18-00352-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 10442 (Tex. App.—Eastland December...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 In re Ruff Mgmt. Trust, the settlor and primary beneficiary sought and obtained a modification of a trust regarding who could name a successor trustee. No. 05-19-01505-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 9467 (Tex. App.—Dallas...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
In In re Equinor Tex. Onshore Props., a trustee filed two cases against different defendants in the same county regarding a royalty dispute under oil and gas leases. No. 05-20-00578-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 8042 (Tex....more