LA Clippers, Sterling Family Trust & Mental Incompetence ?

Uncategorized • Jul 9, 2014

Florida is not the only state where families fight over trusts, billions of $$ and whether someone is incompetent or not to handle one’s business affairs — or run a family trust.

Mentally Incompetent Trustees Can Be Removed from a Family Trust

Here’s some trust background
Many estate planning attorneys –including Palm Beach trust lawyers — who write trusts provide a removal clause for trustees
A trustee of a family trust may be removed if they are unable to manage their business affairs — or simply can’t run the family trust anymore
I’m talking about if the trustee is mentally incompetent — what some in Florida guaridanship circles may refer to as “incapacitated” or “not competent“….
we are talking about a trustee’s cognitive abilities: the ability to analyze, make decisions, understand, reflect, and act independently: a trustee’s mental state
In other words, if a trustee is incompetent, they need to stop running the trust. Because they can’t…… That makes sense, right?

How Do You Determine if Your Trustee is Incompetent?

It’s common for Florida lawyers who write trusts to place a clause or a paragraph in the family trust document which explains how to remove a trustee, or, perhaps better said, how to determine when a trustee is no longer able serve

Q: When is a trustee mentally incompetent?

A: Look to the trust document first.

A common or standard trust clause in family trust documents which Palm Beach trust lawyers have used is “A trustee shall be deemed to be incompetent and no longer serving as trustee if two medical doctors determine in writing that the trustee is unable to manage trust affairs.”

Ask The Trust Court To Determine if the Trustee = Competent

If the trust document doesn’t tell you what to do if you have a trustee that you believe in not competent, you may have to file a trust lawsuit asking the Florida Probate Court to make that determination

For more on Donald Sterling, the LA Clippers sale, and whether Mr. Sterling is competent or not, there are some links below to read:

Published reports: “Donald Sterling has Alzheimer’s and that’s why doctors declared he is incompetent to have a voice in the sale of the L.A. Clippers … TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources connected with the Sterling family tell TMZ … the trust agreement that governs the family’s ownership of the team provides if 2 qualified doctors determine either Donald or Shelly shows “an inability to conduct business affairs in a reasonable and normal manner” … they will then be stripped of control over the team……………….

Under the trust agreement … the doctors’ conclusions were enough to strip Donald of control.”

Here is a link to a published report about Donald Sterling, incompetence and the LA Clippers sale for $ 2 Billion from the Sterling Family Trust: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/30/donald-sterlings-lawyer-says-client-far-from-mentally-incompetent/