Trust Beneficiary Loses Trustee Removal Action & Appeal Anyone involved in the administration of a Palm Beach trust knows that a Florida trust beneficiary cannot remove a trustee just because the beneficiary doesn’t like the trustee. Or, put a better way perhaps: a Palm Beach probate court will not remove a Florida trustee just because the beneficiary and trustee don’t get along. More is needed to remove a trustee under the Florida Trust Code. Under Florida law, for a trust beneficiary to successfully remove a Palm Beach trustee from continuing to serve as trustee, you need to PROVE that the trustee is unfit, engaged in a breach of fiduciary duty, caused damage to the trust or otherwise is interfering with the efficient administration of the Florida trust. Here’s a Hawaii trust case from 6 days ago where a trust beneficiary was representing himself, and lost his trust lawsuit and his appeal.

In Palm Beach trust lawsuits, you generally “get” attorneys fees paid for from the Florida trust if you have rendered a benefit to the Florida trust.  Palm Beach probate courts evaluate whether a “benefit” was conveyed very carefully.  Just because you spend money doesn’t mean that you are going to get reimbursed for your Palm Beach trust litigator fees.  Here’s a California trust & guardianship case decided a few days ago where a lawyer wanted fees 7 years after providing services in a trust and guardianship matter.  This case may cause a Palm Beach trust beneficiary, or someone involved in a Palm Beach guardianship case, wonder whether you will get your probate legal fees reimbursed….or whether you pay your guardianship lawyer yourself.

This is a March 27, 2014 guardianship case from the Supreme Court of Mississippi which dealt with prudent investing and transfering a guardianship to another state.  The minor’s guardian petitioned for transfer of the guardianship to Louisiana, where the ward and guardian had moved.  It involves a minor’s $$$, lots of money:  from the loss of the minor’s father at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20, 2010. 

This is an Illinois trust and estate case of a probate litigation attorney being held in contempt by the court over estate planning documents.  Why?:  the lawyer refused to produce estate planning documents held by his client, an accounting firm. Before you think this is really bad, consider that Florida’s Evidence Code, which Palm Beach estate litigators use every day, has exclusionary rules of Florida evidence. 

Wow.  A major decision from the Iowa Supreme Court issued on March 28, 2014 about estate administration malpractice.  The personal representative of an estate sued the probate lawyer who was hired by the personal representative.  Her complaint with the estate lawyer:  the estate lawyer did not adequately advise the estate’s personal representative about the executor’s PERSONAL interests in and to the estate. 

If you are the trustee of a Palm Beach trust, you are in charge of administering the trust according to the valid trust document and the Florida Trust Code.  Remember:  a Palm Beach Trust is NOT a Palm Beach Probate !  Oh yes,  you also need to invest the trust assets.  Prudently.  If you have not hired a professional Co Trustee such as a Palm Beach trust company or bank, and if you have not delegated all “investment functions” to an “investment agent” under the Florida Trust Code, here are a few tips for IPOs and investing under the Florida Prudent Investor Act.

If you are the trustee of a Palm Beach trust, you are in charge of administering the trust according to the valid trust document and the Florida Trust Code.  Remember:  a Palm Beach Trust is NOT a Palm Beach Probate !  Oh yes,  you also need to invest the trust assets.  Prudently.  If you have not hired a professional Co Trustee such as a Palm Beach trust company or bank, and if you have not delegated all “investment functions” to an “investment agent” under the Florida Trust Code, here are a few tips for IPOs and investing under the Florida Prudent Investor Act.

Sex, lies and videotape in this Michigan probate litigation case decided a few days ago?  Not really: there is sex between a wealthy man and his former lover and employee.  No videotapes that I read about.  Lots of $$$:  a $200,000 check, a Comerica brokerage account, checking accounts…..But there are allegations and findings of fraud by the former girlfriend and concealing of assets, which smacks of lies.

In Palm Beach, there are many second marriages with step children and second and third spouses.  And there are also many guardianship actions in the Palm Beach Probate Court.  This Minnesota case, whose legal opinion was issued by the appeals court just days ago, is the intersection of 1) guardianship law 2) estate law & the inheritance rights of a widow or surviving spouse (specifically an elective share) and 3) estate litigation where the step children are opposing an incompetent widow’s right to seek an estate inheritance or elective share.

Are reverse mortgages a good part of Florida estate plans or merely a credit card disguised  as a valuable asset ?  As reverse mortgages increase in popularity, heirs and adult children are finding less of an inheritance and less value in their parent’s Florida real estate.  Are parents spending your inheritance ?  How dare they.