Good Beneficiaries Keep Tabs on the Trustee
We hate to say it, but beneficiaries should never blindly trust their trustees. Good beneficiaries pay attention to the process. The trustee-beneficiary relationship works properly only if beneficiaries are engaged and looking out for themselves. Yes, the trustee legally owes duties to the beneficiaries a whole bunch of ways. But it’s the beneficiaries who must […]
Trustee’s Rules: It’s a Tough Job, and You Don’t Have to Do It
Let’s say you’ve discovered that a recently deceased loved one named you successor trustee. We have a message for you: You are not a dictator, you are not royalty, you do not have a license to torment the relatives who are beneficiaries, and you don’t have to accept. You will be governed by some trustee’s […]
Hopeful Planning Fails in Two Special Needs Cases
Hopeful planning: when your estate plan is based around your hope that everything will turn out fine. We see it a lot. Often it works. Too often it does not. Two cases we read last week illustrate how hopeful planning can go wrong when facts change after the planner’s death. Both happened to be California […]
Surcharge Order Entered Against SNT Trustee
It can be hard for the trustee of a special needs trust to figure out what expenditures are permitted. The trust document might give some direction. Medicaid and Social Security eligibility workers will review the actual expenditures. And often, a court is looking over the trustee, as well. The court is the only one, though, […]
North Carolina Court Reviews Special Needs Trust’s Purpose
When someone creates a trust — any trust — they have some purpose or goal. What is a special needs trust’s purpose? That seemingly simple question is the focus of a recent North Carolina case. Indeed, four different levels of that state’s courts seem to have trouble coming up with a straightforward answer. The guardianship […]
Court Rejects Trustee Removal Petition in Family Dispute
When our clients sign living trusts, they usually are thinking about how to simplify legal proceedings. Trusts normally are not subject to court supervision, which helps save court costs and fees. Without court oversight, though, the trustee of a trust can sometimes get crosswise with the beneficiaries. When things reach too difficult of an impasse, […]
Surcharge Against Trustee for Benefiting Self
VOLUME 24 NUMBER 13 We see problems of trustees misbehaving all too often. Frequently those misbehaviors start from small decisions and are magnified over time. A trustee can be “surcharged” for actions benefiting the trustee at the expense of the trust. That can mean penalties as serious as forfeiture of all rights to receive benefits […]
Why We Do What We Do
JANUARY 9, 2017 VOLUME 24 NUMBER 2 At Fleming & Curti, PLC, we represent seniors, people with disabilities and the family members who work with and support them. We also frequently act as trustee, agent, conservator or guardian for that population. It’s hard to capsulize exactly what we do, but if you ask any of […]
Trustee Has Duty to Monitor His Lawyer’s Behavior
AUGUST 29, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 32 Are you a trustee, or named as successor trustee for a family member or friend? We regularly advise people in your circumstance that they should get good legal advice. Once you’ve done that, however, you are not absolved from any liability if things go wrong. A trustee is […]
Things to Consider When You’re Named as Successor Trustee
NOVEMBER 2, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 40 When a family member dies, you will need to address a number of items. One that might come up: handling the revocable living trust they created. If you are named as successor trustee you will have a number of obligations you need to discharge. You might need help […]