Estate and trust administration are complex, lengthy processes. Depending on the circumstances, estate administration could require more than a year to complete. Trust administration could require decades of ongoing efforts. The individuals who agree to act as trustees or personal representatives, also known as executors, have a fiduciary duty. They have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of beneficiaries.
Ensuring that they fulfill the terms established by the trust creator or testator and that they optimize the benefits derived by beneficiaries is part of that fiduciary duty. Occasionally, beneficiaries or family members may choose to initiate probate litigation. They may assert that a trustee or personal representative failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty.
What types of scenarios might justify allegations about failing to fulfill fiduciary duty?
Seeking personal enrichment
Unethical conduct is a common way for a trustee or personal representative to violate their fiduciary duty to beneficiaries. The access to and control over high-value resources may prove too much of a temptation.
Some people embezzle from an estate. Others might hire their own business to provide overpriced services to the estate or trust, thereby diminishing what beneficiaries eventually receive through self-dealing. Trustees and personal representatives typically receive compensation for their services and should not seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the trust, the estate or its beneficiaries.
Proving incompetent or negligent
Acting in the best interests of others may require careful attention to detail and even the acquisition of new skills. Trustees may need to learn how to manage financial investments or preserve the value of real property.
They often have to fulfill certain legal and financial obligations to avoid claims against estate or trust resources. In scenarios where trustees or personal representatives fail to act or make improper decisions regarding estate or trust administration, their failures can cost beneficiaries thousands.
When it is reasonable to assert that the negligence or incompetence of a fiduciary diminished the value of resources, beneficiaries may be able to initiate probate litigation. They could request the replacement of the trustee or personal representative. In more extreme cases, they could ask the courts to make the fiduciary financially responsible for the impact of their behavior.
Discussing the circumstances motivating potential probate litigation with a skilled legal team can help people determine if they have grounds to take legal action. Responding assertively with probate litigation could potentially help preserve resources intended for the support of beneficiaries.
