When a California resident agrees to fill a position in someone’s estate plan, he or she takes on a fiduciary duty to heirs and/or beneficiaries after the death of the person creating the plan. The duties that entails vary depending on the position. For instance, a trustee owes a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the trust he or she agreed to administer. When that duty is breached, it could result in trust litigation.
Being the trustee of a trust creates a fiduciary duty to its beneficiaries. Once that duty exists, the trustee must perform his or her duties to the best of his or her ability in good faith. In this context, a breach of this duty could encompass actions such as mismanaging, misusing or misappropriating the assets in the trust.
When a trustee fails to properly administer a trust, it could end up costing the beneficiaries. The more significant the losses become, the more likely it is that the beneficiaries may begin looking into the matter. If the trustee fails to rectify the problem to the beneficiaries’ satisfaction, they may pursue more formal efforts to find a resolution.
This often means trust litigation. Beneficiaries have certain rights, and when a trustee fails to protect those rights and live up to the rigors of the job, it may be necessary to remove him or her. Of course, it will still be necessary to prove to a California court that the trustee breached his or her fiduciary duty, and then the court may consider an award of monetary and/or non-monetary damages.