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Estate Planning › Duty of Loyalty

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +
Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process.  less -
Warner Norcross + Judd

Trusts 101: What is a Trust and How is it Created?

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Trusts are valuable tools frequently used to transfer wealth within families, preserve and protect wealth, and reduce taxes. Despite their common use, many people have only a limited understanding of what a trust is or how...more

Cole Schotz

Named As A Trustee And Wondering What To Do? Here Is A Checklist Of Duties To Get You Started

Cole Schotz on

Maybe a friend or a relative has recently passed away and you just received a communication informing you that you have been named as a trustee. You have no idea what this role entails, and you feel overwhelmed having no...more

Downey Brand LLP

Lawyers Owe Duties to Nonclients Only When Intent to Benefit Them Was Clear

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When does a California estate planning attorney owe a duty of care to people other than the client? Planners can breathe easier after a recent appellate ruling. The court clarified the limits on legal malpractice claims...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries: July 2022

McGuireWoods LLP on

In the most recent installment of the McGuireWoods Fiduciary Advisory Services annual multipart series on recent fiduciary cases, developments in the law concerning various topics are examined through the following: ...more

Downey Brand LLP

Final Ethics Opinion Guides Lawyers on Clients with Diminished Capacity

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We wrote last July about a draft California ethics opinion regarding clients who may have diminished mental capacity. After receiving public comment, the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and...more

Winstead PC

Litigating Self-Interested Transactions Involving Fiduciaries - Presentation

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David F. Johnson presented his paper “Litigating Self-Interested Transactions Involving Fiduciaries” to the State Bar of Texas’s Fiduciary Litigation Course on December 2-3, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. This presentation...more

Winstead PC

Presentation: Trustee Quandary – Criminal Activity by a Beneficiary With or On Trust Property

Winstead PC on

David F. Johnson presented his paper “Trustee Quandary: Criminal Activity By a Beneficiary With or On Trust Property,” to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on March 5, 2020. The presentation dealt with a trustee...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Contempt Order Based On A Beneficiary’s Refusal To Produce Trust Documents, Holding That The Beneficiary Had A Right...

Winstead PC on

In In re Topletz, the trial court ordered a party jailed for civil contempt for failing to comply with an order to produce documents from a family-run trust during post-judgment discovery in a suit against him individually...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Trustee Must Be Careful in Seeking Release from Beneficiary

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Can a California trustee require a beneficiary to sign a release in order to get a distribution from a trust? A question like this appeared recently on the AVVO “Free Q&A” page and makes for a perfect blog topic....more

Downey Brand LLP

Could “The Farewell” Approach to Hiding a Terminal Diagnosis Occur in California?

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In “The Farewell,” now out in theaters, family members choose not to tell the matriarch (“Nai Nai”) of her terminal lung cancer diagnosis. They use the pretext of a wedding to get the family together in China so that they can...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Helping Trustees Avoid Liability — The Duty of Loyalty

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The most important duty a trustee has is that of loyalty. The courts are particularly sensitive to this duty, and for good reason—the trust was created for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The duty of loyalty requires that a...more

Lathrop GPM

Top 10 Tips for the Professional Fiduciary to Avoid Litigation

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Communication is Key. This may seem obvious, but good communication can go a long way in preventing a dispute. This includes timely responding to emails and voice messages...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Avoiding Fiduciary Conflicts of Interest

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It is very difficult for a trustee to have conflicts of interest without breaching the duty of loyalty. We typically think of trustee conflicts as they relate to self-dealing by the trustee, which is almost always a problem...more

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