January 10th, 2012

Trust litigation often involves many components.  If there is a dispute with a trustee, the plaintiffs often request removal of the trustee, an accounting, and damages.  As a practical matter, courts will often deal with the various requests for relief in a piecemeal fashion.  Thus, a court may enter an order removing a trustee and appointing a successor trustee many months before actually reaching a decision whether the trustee did, in fact, breach its fiduciary duties.

When these matters are addressed through separate orders, the question often becomes “can I appeal and when?”  In Guardianship & Protective Services, Inc. v. Setinsek, an Ohio Court of Appeals addressed that question under Ohio law. (more…)

December 8th, 2011

Of the many things trustees stay awake at night worrying about, I’m not sure where getting hauled into court in some far off jurisdiction fits on that list.  Wherever it falls onto the list, it’s probably a few slots higher for successor trustees who always have to wonder to what extent they can be held liable for their predecessors’ acts.

Fortunately, as the New Hampshire Supreme Court made clear in Fellows v. Colburn, when it comes to personal jurisdiction – and getting hauled into court in some far off jurisdiction – only your own acts count, not those of your predecessor trustee. (more…)

September 12th, 2011

A lot of family trust disputes get resolved either through pre-litigation settlement agreements or pre-trial settlement.  Unfortunately, poor drafting of a settlement agreement often defeats the purpose of the original settlement by leading to litigation concerning the settlement agreement itself.  In Purcella v. Purcella, the Wyoming Supreme Court reminds us that if you are going to enter an agreement altering the terms of an original trust, you need to be explicit that you are actually altering the terms of the original trust. (more…)