Examples of executor misconduct and trustee misconduct include: Failing to provide accountings to beneficiaries. Favoring one beneficiary over another. Misappropriating or misusing estate or trust assets for personal gain.
A trustee is tasked with managing the assets in a trust for the benefit of the trust's beneficiaries, and handling assets in the manner dictated by the terms of the trust. When a trustee fails in his or her duties, it is referred to as breach of fiduciary duty. Breach of fiduciary duty can come in many forms.
Per California trust law, if a trustee has committed a breach of their fiduciary duty, the court can deem them personally liable for damages. The extent of liability, ultimately, depends on the severity of their offense and your situation.
A trustee must abide by the trust document and the California Probate Code. They are prohibited from using trust assets for personal gain and must act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. Trust assets are meant for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries and not for the personal use of the trustee.
If the trustee is not paying beneficiaries accurately or on time, legal action can be taken against them.
Georgia colonists complained the most, however, about three of the trustees' regulations: (1) restrictions on land ownership and inheritance, (2) a ban on slavery, and (3) prohibitions on rum and other hard liquors.
Trustees have a legal obligation to adhere to the terms of the trust and be accountable to its beneficiaries for their actions. This obligation, also called their fiduciary duty, is one of the most important legal tools at your disposal to hold them responsible.
Beneficiaries have a right to sue the trustee.
That is fairly easy under California law if there is no issue with the identity of the trustee. Next, you must establish a breach of that duty.
An executor does not possess the power to overrule or change the terms established by a trust; these roles carry separate responsibilities. An executor's role consists of overseeing and closing an estate as per its will's instructions without disrupting or interfering with their independent functions as trustee.
Trustee malfeasance refers to any type of negligent, self-serving, erroneous, or retaliatory conduct committed by the trustee of a trust resulting in harm to trust assets or beneficiaries. Trustee malfeasance is a broad term encompassing many different types of offenses, both intentional and unintentional.
Negligence or Mismanagement of Trust Assets
So, if a trustee fails to do so, whether it is out of negligence, incompetence, or outright malice, then a trustee is unfit to manage the trust, and this constitutes a breach of his or her fiduciary duty and can be one reason for removing a trustee.
However, trustees have a minimum duty to perform the trusts honestly and in good faith for the benefit of the beneficiaries. An exemption clause cannot excuse a trustee who either knows that their act or omission is contrary to the beneficiaries' interests or is recklessly indifferent to the beneficiaries' interests.
Typical Breaches of Fiduciary Duty Include:
Commingling of estate or trust assets. Self-dealing. Losses created by the trustee or executor's wrongful act or omission. Material misrepresentation (e.g. failing to disclose facts or false presentation of the facts)
But generally, the trustee is entitled to use trust funds to pay for things like: Funeral and burial expenses for yourself or a trust beneficiary. Expenses related to properties included in the trust, such as repairs or property insurance. Repaying any debts owed by your estate when you pass away.
Failing to properly invest trust funds, engaging in self-dealing, and preferring one beneficiary over the other beneficiaries are the more frequent ways a trustee mismanages a trust or breaches his or her fiduciary duty.
This is a fundamental concept of trust law: the separation of legal and equitable title. In other words, while the trustee has the legal authority to manage and control the assets, they do so not for their own benefit, but for the beneficiaries.
In general, the steps to this process are: The trustee must send a written notice to the beneficiary to vacate the real property. Under California law, if the beneficiary has been in possession of the property for less than a year, then a 30-day notice is sufficient.
Trustees must exercise the care and prudence that a reasonably prudent person would in similar circumstances. Negligence can include failing to properly manage or invest trust assets, not keeping accurate records, or ignoring legal requirements. Such failures can lead to financial losses and legal consequences.
In essence, while both roles are powerful within their domains, trustees often have more enduring and autonomous control over the assets they manage.
Trustees generally do not have the power to change the beneficiary of a trust. The right to add and remove beneficiaries is a power reserved for the settlor of the trust; when the grantor dies, their trust will usually become irrevocable. In other words, their trust will not be able to be modified in any way.
Anyone 16 and over (18 for an Unincorporated Association or Charitable Trust) who is not 'disqualified' can be a Trustee. The reasons for disqualification were set down by the Charities Act 2011, and were designed to prevent people convicted of financial crimes, or who made serious financial errors, becoming trustees.
Between 1735 and 1750 Georgia was the only British American colony to attempt to prohibit Black slavery as a matter of public policy. The decision to ban slavery was made by the founders of Georgia, the Trustees.
(a) The trustee has a duty not to delegate to others the performance of acts that the trustee can reasonably be required personally to perform and may not transfer the office of trustee to another person nor delegate the entire administration of the trust to a cotrustee or other person.