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Estate Planning › Trusts › Appeals

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 -
Winstead PC

Court Rules That There Is No Right To A Jury Trial In A Trust Modification Suit And Affirms The Modifications Of A Trust

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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

Latham & Watkins LLP

UK Court Clarifies Important Issues Relating to Proprietary Interests in Trust Assets

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The Court of Appeal ruled that losing proprietary rights under foreign law could invalidate personal claims against third party recipients of trust assets. On 27 January 2022, the UK Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Indiana Court of Appeals Invalidates Trust for Failure to Identify Trust Beneficiary

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Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Wilson v. Wilson. The case involved the last will and testament (“Will”) of decedent Terrel Wilson, Sr. (“Terrel Sr.”), which purported to create a trust....more

Lathrop GPM

Minnesota Court of Appeals Upholds Settlor’s Intent, Rejects Beneficiary’s Petition to Modify Trust and Receive Attorney Fees

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In an opinion released last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a petition to modify the terms of a trust to allow for the early distribution of trust assets to the beneficiaries. The court also denied the...more

Winstead PC

Texas Court Does Not Have Personal Jurisdiction Over A Trustee Of A Trust With Texas Timber Rights

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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

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed An Order Modifying A Trust Where The Complaining Beneficiaries Were Not Affected By The Modification, Where The...

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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

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Venue For Suit Over Royalties By A Trustee Was Proper Due To Statutory Venue Provision Even Though The Suit Did...

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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

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Trustee Had The Power To Sell Trust Property To An Affiliate, Though Such An Act May Be In Breach Of A Duty

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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

Winstead PC

Court Had Jurisdiction To Declare That The Majority Of Co-Trustees Had The Authority To Sell Trust Property And The Declaration...

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In Duncan v. O’Shea, three co-trustees brought a declaratory judgment action against a fourth co-trustee, seeking a declaration that the sale of trust real property was valid over the objection of the fourth co-trustee. No....more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

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Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039. Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first...more

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

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Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Winstead PC

Co-Trustees Can Sue To Remove A Co-Trustee Due To Hostility

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In Ramirez v. Rodriguez, three co-trustees sued a fourth trustee to have him removed due to his hostile actions: he “has engaged in a pattern of creating hostility and friction that impedes and/or affects the operations of...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Deceased Testamentary Trust Beneficiary Can Still Be A Beneficiary

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In In the Estate of Mendoza, a decedent’s son’s children filed a petition claiming their entitlement to their father’s beneficial interest in a trust created under the decedent’s will. No. 04-19-00129-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more

Downey Brand LLP

Mind Your Notice in California – Even Remote Contingent Beneficiaries May Need to Be Served

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It’s unremarkable that California courts require that notice be given to affected beneficiaries in trust and probate proceedings. After all, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person will be deprived of life,...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Arbitration Clause Held Not Enforceable as to the Validity of the Trust Amendment

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There has been considerable discussion regarding including arbitration clauses in estate planning documents over recent years. Some estate and trust attorneys are actively pushing for the inclusion of such clauses. Recently,...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Trustees Beware: Provide Timely Information to Beneficiaries

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Individual trustees often fail to fulfill the duties imposed on trustees, not only by the trust instrument, by also by the trust statutes applicable in the jurisdiction. It is often the case that the individual trustee is a...more

Downey Brand LLP

Your Slice of the Pizza – Only Directly Inherited Asset Qualifies as Separate Property

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It is widely understood in California that inherited assets, unlike assets earned from labor, are the separate property of the receiving spouse.  But what if the assets do not come directly from a parent and instead pass from...more

Downey Brand LLP

Don’t Rely on a Post-It® Note to Amend Your California Trust

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A key feature of a California revocable trust is that it can be amended. Revising a trust can, however, seem like an irksome chore so it’s common for creators of trusts (i.e., “settlors” or “trustors”) to shrug off an...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Trustee Has To Serve Until Properly Replaced

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In Waldron v. Susan R. Winking Trust, a daughter was a beneficiary of a trust set up by her parents. No. 12-18-00026-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 5867 (Tex. App.—Tyler July 10, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Winstead PC

In A Suit To Reform A Trust, A Texas Court Holds That There Was A Fact Issue On The Settlors’ Intent And Remanded For A Fact...

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In In re Ignacio G. & Myra A. Gonzales Trust, a couple formed a trust and named their daughter as the trustee. No. 06-19-00014-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 4648 (Tex. App.—Texarkana June 6, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Downey Brand LLP

California Probate Administration Is No Time for Napping

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In the absence of a trust that allows assets to pass without opening probate, the California probate process lasts for at least six months and can run much longer depending on the size of the estate and the nature of assets....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Indiana Court of Appeals Opinion Reminds Trustees to Be Transparent and Careful in Accountings

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When more than $250,000 was missing from a final trust and estate accounting, a beneficiary objected. But the trial court approved the accounting and closed the estate. A unanimous panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals...more

Downey Brand LLP

When Defending Becomes Offensive: California Court Expands No Contest Clauses to Defense of Invalid Amendment

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No contest clauses are included in wills and trusts to discourage dissatisfied beneficiaries from challenging the document’s validity. Because enforcement of these clauses results in disinheritance, the California Probate...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

November Trust and Estates Litigation Advisory

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Since our last newsletter, there has been one significant development in the Probate and Family Court, and one decision of note. First, effective as of November 20, 2017, the Probate and Family Court issued Standing...more

Downey Brand LLP

Courts Should Read Elder Abuse Act Broadly to Stop Wrongdoers

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California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act is elastic enough to encompass claims arising from sharp insurance sales practices, even when elders do not pay anything directly to the agents. So concluded...more

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