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
The Fiduciary Litigator
Blog Authors
Latest from The Fiduciary Litigator
Court Held That Deed For Common Area To Homeowners’ Association Did Not Create A Trust For The Members
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.…
Upcoming Webinar: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow: Issues Arising From Trust Termination and Trustee Succession In Texas
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 Johnson Receives the 2024 JD Supra’s Readers’ Choice Award – Top Author in Wealth Management
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.…
Court Affirmed Award Of Damages And Punitive Damages Against A Trustee Due To A Breach Of The Duty To Disclose, Held That A Trust Was Terminated And A Disclaimer Was Effective, And Affirmed An Award Of Attorney’s Fees Against The Trustee And A Refusal To Allow A Trustee To Reimburse Herself From Trust Assets
Court Held That A Trust Terminated Upon The Primary Beneficiary’s Death And That The Trustee Did Not Have Authority To Accept New Assets As A Part Of Its “Winding Up” Authority
In Herbig v. Welch, a dispute arose around whether a trust terminated and whether certain transfers were valid. No. 01-22-00080-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4505 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 27, 2023, no pet.). The parties disputed whether a trust terminated, whether a trustee had authority to accept transfers after termination, whether certain transfers…
Court Reverses Summary Judgments On The Alleged Exercise Of A Power Of Appointment, Disclaimer, And The Statute Of Limitations
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…
Financial Services Fiduciary Litigation Update 2022-2023
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…
Texas Supreme Court To Review Joinder Issue In A Trust Dispute
In In re Tr. A & Tr. C, Established Under Bernard L. & Jeannette Fenenbock Living Tr. Agreement, Dated Mar. 12, 2008, a co-trustee of a family trust transferred stock from the trust to her personal trust and then sold the stock to her sons. 651 S.W.3d 588 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2022), pet. granted (Dec.…
Who Has The Duty To Prepare An Accounting When The Trustee Dies Or Becomes Incapacitated?
Beneficiaries of trust can face a difficult situation when the trustee of their trust either dies or becomes incapacitated. They may have many questions about the trust, such as what assets are in the trust or should be in the trust, what income and expenses have been incurred, what liabilities exist, what loans to and…