The Fiduciary Litigator

Latest from The Fiduciary Litigator

In Frank v. Frank, co-trustees filed suit in federal court seeking declarations regarding their authority and potential liabilities. No. 3:22-cv-01757-M, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 226439 (N.D. Tex. December 20, 2023). There was an earlier dispute, which was settled resulting in a mediated settlement. The co-trustees asserted two general types of requests for relief, one concerning

In BLF LLC v. Landing at Blanco Prop. Owners Ass’n, member of a home owners association sued to prevent the association from selling certain common area property. No. 03-22-00423-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 9300 (Tex. App.—Austin December 13, 2023, no pet. history). Among other theories, the members alleged that the trust existed for their benefit.

This presentation will address the main legal issues that arise when trusts terminate or there is a successor trustee, such as trustee resignation, trustee removal, who can be a successor trustee, co-trustee resignation issues, successor trustee duty to police, prior trustee duty to report, trust termination, impact of termination, a trustee’s wind-up power, claims against

David Fowler Johnson, Managing Shareholder of Winstead’s Fort Worth office and the lead writer for The Fiduciary Litigator blog, was awarded the JDSupra Readers’ Choice Award for Top Author in Wealth Management. In addition, Winstead was also named in the same category.

2024 marks the sixth consecutive year David has received this award from JDSupra.

In In re Estate of Wells, No. 12-23-00066-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8475 (Tex. App.—Tyler November 8, 2023, no pet. history). The testator left a will that created a trust for his wife and descendants, named his wife as the initial trustee, and granted the wife a power of appointment.  The power of appointment reads

Watch Shareholder David F. Johnson address the following issues: whether a party has a right to jury trial in trust modification and other similar actions, what are the standards for pretrial receivership and injunctive relief in trust disputes, payment of attorney’s fees by trustees, oral trusts, enforceability of release agreements between trustees and beneficiaries, voiding