Do you know what a fiduciary is? More and more we hear about parties breaching their fiduciary duty but the news never actually tells you what those fiduciary duties are! Failure to understand the limits of a trustee’s fiduciary duties to you may spell failure in West Palm Beach probate court. Don’t believe me? Check out this case out of the Third District Court of Appeal where a party’s claim for breach of fiduciary duty against a real estate agent failed.
Fiduciary Duties in West Palm Beach
- A fiduciary is someone who you trust and who owes you a duty not to abuse that trust.
- Can you think of any people who owe you a fiduciary duty besides a West Palm Beach trustee?
- Lawyers for one, doctors and accountants for another.
- Is a car dealer a fiduciary?
- Probably not.
- What about your real estate agent?
- A fiduciary like a trustee owes you a few distinct duties.
- For one thing a trustee has a duty of prudence when it comes to investments.
- Also a trustee owes you a duty to earmark your trust property from other trust property and his or her own assets.
- Finally all fiduciaries including a trustee owe a duty of loyalty.
- Loyalty means the fiduciary cannot put their own interests above yours.
- A fiduciary owes you a lot but they are not expected to be superheroes you cannot expect them to fix things they warned you about that you did anyways.
- Take a look at this recent case out of the Third District Court of Appeal where the duties of a real estate agent were tested.
Moreno v. International Title Inc.
- This was a case between a home buyer and her real estate agent.
- The homeowner brought suit against the real estate agent after there were numerous issues with the property she purchases.
- The problem was that the title company and the real estate agent had warned the woman of all of the issues and the issues were in writing at the closing.
- The woman did not speak English or read it though!
- Was the fiduciary responsible for this, what do you think?
- The appellate court in Miami-Dade said no.
Want to learn more about the duties of a fiduciary in West Palm Beach?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.