Here’s a current trust case where the bank served as trustee of a family trust for 49 years …………….and then got sued !
Q: Why read this?
A: For anyone involved in Palm Beach trust lawsuits, you may want to read this recent case, only days old, to get perspective about suing a trustee. It may give you a bit of flavor on how probate courts rule on trust lawsuits and what trust litigation is like. In Florida, many people use revocable trusts to hold their property and leave an inheritance for children, a so called irrevocable Family Trust. That’s what happened in this case. In this trust probate case, the trust lawyers were involved with a 50 year old trust ! This shows you that what you put in your Florida revocable trust does matter ….for decades !!!
Trust Lawsuit: overview
Here’s a quick overview of this trust lawsuit whose legal opinion was handed down literally 7 days ago on August 22, 2014. This is CURRENT, breaking probate litigation news and legal opinions and is fresh.
- Revocable trust created in 1957
- The revocable trust became irrevocable in 1960 to benefit the widow
- The widow or surviving spouse died in 1970
- The trust divided into three parts for the adult children –sometimes when a trust divides, you call the parts “sub-trusts”
- A trust advisory committee was formed with certain trust powers (in Florida, the Florida Trust Code recognizes trust protectors and others, third parties, who may provide services to the trust, but Florida law does not really, or certainly in any detail, define their rights or fiduciary duties)
- The trustee, a bank, was removed as trustee in 2006
- In 2007, the successor trustees sued the bank for breach of fiduciary duty
- The bank won and the trust lost
- This probate case about the family trust was affirmed on appeal
Trust Lawsuit Statute of Limitations and Liability of Trustees
- This August 22, 2014 trust legal decision dealt with some trust law procedural & evidentiary matters which, quite frankly, may bore you if you are, for example, a Florida trust beneficiary living in Boca Raton, Florida or you are the chosen successor trustee who resides in Jupiter, Florida
- But your Florida trust lawyer may want to read this for perspective
- What’s the burden of proof in trust lawsuits?
- How do you prove breach of trust, or , also called in Florida trust lawsuits, “breach of fiduciary duty“?
- What is the statute of limitations to sue a trustee? In other words, how long does a trust beneficiary have to sue their trustee?
Q: Want to read more about this recent trust lawsuit?
Q: Why not read the entire decision of the appeals court which decided this trust lawsuit? Here is the link to read, free and online, the legal opinion of the court in this trust litigation matter: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/6/2014/2014-ohio-3619.pdf