Trust Litigation

Either a trustee or a beneficiary can file a lawsuit over a trust dispute. Occasionally a trust has an “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) clause, which requires the parties to solve disputes without going to court. Unfortunately, even when the clause exists, it is not always enforceable. Typically, if either party thinks it’s worth fighting over, it generally goes to litigation.

As a law firm dedicated to estate and elder law, Keehn Estate and Elder Law brings extensive experience and a track record of success in helping our clients in areas including:

• Disputes between beneficiaries and trustees: Whether because of poor communication, trustee compensation, or investment strategies and distribution of funds, disputes between trustee and beneficiary are, sadly, all too common. We work to resolve disputes in our client’s favor. 
• Breach of fiduciary duty: A trustee is obligated to three elements of managing a trust: a duty of loyalty, a duty of care and the duty of full disclosure. Failure to meet any one of these can result in charges of breach of fiduciary duty. We represent beneficiaries who have been subjected to wrongful acts on the part of their trustee and trustees who have been accused of breach of fiduciary duty.
• Recovery of trustee and attorney’s fees: This can be complicated, but often, a trustee who has prevailed in a litigation can recover fees through the trust. In addition, a trustee can recover fees through the trust for attorney fees incurred in the administration of the trustee’s fiduciary duties.
• Trustee misappropriation: A trustee is required by law to act in the best interest of the beneficiary. Misappropriation occurs when that is not the case—most often, when the trustee uses trust funds for their own benefit. Commingling of trust with personal funds, conflicts of interest and just plain mismanagement can all lead to trustee misappropriation.
• Trust accounting: Managing a trust estate means supplying an account for all trust actions taken by the trustee. When this doesn’t happen, or when there is sloppy accounting, there is reason for beneficiaries to be worried. Common trust accounting issues run from failure to adhere to the terms of the trust to using trust funds to making ill-advised investment decisions, or failing to invest at all.