Trust Disputes
When a person wants to set aside money, real estate or other property or assets for the benefit of a family member, charity or other person or entity, he or she may create a trust. Trusts are used for many reasons, including tax planning, creditor protection, estate planning, and control of distribution. There are many types of trusts, including revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, family trusts, inter vivos trusts, insurance trusts, and charitable trusts. Disputes often arise between beneficiaries and trustees or between different beneficiaries. The types of disputes vary, including complaints regarding investment choices, self-dealing by the trustee, inadequate generation of income, preferential treatment of some beneficiaries over others, misappropriation of assets, mismanagement, fraud, poor tax planning and failure or refusal to account to trust beneficiaries. The lawyers at Gaslowitz Frankel LLC have years of experience representing trustees or beneficiaries when disputes arise.
Latest Entries
Breach of Fiduciary Duties
Trustees have a legal duty to protect the beneficiaries and the assets and property they are holding for the benefit of someone else. These are called “fiduciary duties.” There are times when a beneficiary, family member or interested person believes that a trustee has ignored his or her duties and harmed the person whom he…
learn more »Accounting
Every beneficiary of a trust is entitled to know how much money or assets are being held for his or her benefit. Sometimes the trust document will set out the procedures for asking for this information. If not, there are state laws that govern when and how to obtain this information. Whether the rules are…
learn more »Self Dealing
Every trustee owes the trust beneficiaries a duty of utmost good faith, which means they will not use trust assets for their own benefit. If a trustee does that, it is called self-dealing. The attorneys at Gaslowitz Frankel LLC have handled numerous claims involving self-dealing by trustees.
learn more »Set Aside of Trust
In order for a trust to be valid, the person establishing the trust must have the mental competence to understand the purpose of the trust. Further, the individual setting up the trust must do so on his or her own volition, free of undue influence of another. The attorneys at Gaslowitz Frankel have experience in…
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