A trust litigation attorney is there to advise you and to help prepare you for complicated cases involving trust litigation. Unfortunately, there are plenty of different circumstances that can lead to trust litigation and it is crucial that you have the support of a lawyer to guide you through them.
An attorney can make a tremendous difference in the outcome of your case when you engage a trust litigator as soon as possible. Look for an attorney who has an extensive practice focused on trust litigation as this can enable you to move through your case more quickly and understand all of the various issues associated with trust problems.
Many trustee issues are linked to the involvement of the trustee and the beneficiary. In some cases the beneficiaries might believe that the trustee needs to be removed entirely. The court is eligible to remove a beneficiary like a trustee when they believe that the trustee has done something opposite of the best interests of the beneficiaries. This involves a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. It is a serious matter to allege that a trustee has violated their fiduciary duty. You must be prepared to provide evidence like testimony and documents because it’s a major matter to accuse someone of violating their fiduciary responsibilities.
Collecting this evidence can also require the support of an experienced North Dakota trust litigation attorney. This can require expert witnesses, like accountants, depositions, interrogatories, witness interviews and evidence presented following the rules of evidence. Persuading judges to remove trustees is a serious matter and one that can harm the reputation of the trustee so it should only be undertaken when you have appropriate legal counsel to support you in this situation. The trustee removal experience can save you money.
If a trustee has been involved in breach of fiduciary duty and self-dealing or co-mingling funds, this can present significant problems for the assets inside the trust. There are many different reasons why trustees might be removed from this role. A trustee is appointed to handle the administration of the trust and in many ways has a lot of discretion in terms of the decisions that they make. However, some popular reasons for trustee removal include:
- Self-dealing
- Misconduct
- Abuse of discretion
- Mismanaging trust assets
- Failing to adhere to trust terms
- Friction between multiple co-trustees
- Abuse of discretion
- Failure to act
- Hostile actions towards beneficiaries
- Breach of trust
- An insolvent trustee
- Trustee incapacity
- Non-cooperation with a vital party
If an interested party thinks that a trustee has done something requiring their removal, they are eligible to hire an estate litigation lawyer in North Dakota to move forward with this. Additionally, if the wrongful acts by the trustee have harmed the value of the trust, then the trustee may be held personally liable for mistakes following a formal accounting. If trustees do not change their behavior after an accounting has been submitted and correct any damage, the judge will then schedule a hearing and evaluate all of the evidence gathered.
If it is determined that grounds for removal exist, this is the point at which they may be taken off of the trustee altogether. An estate litigation attorney can help to save time and money because the proper assembly of evidence is important for presenting a compelling case that a trustee should be removed from their role. The support of a lawyer is instrumental in helping you with a trust litigation case and you should not wait to get help from an attorney who is highly knowledgeable in this area of the law.
There are so many different things to think about in this circumstance that you need to prepare yourself by having conversations with a lawyer well in advance of taking any action. You might have attempted to communicate with the trustee in the past and resolved these matters on your own but if you’ve been unsuccessful in doing so, you want to be prepared to work with a lawyer to gather the proper evidence so that you can make a strong claim in court.