If a trustee fails to follow the terms of the trust, how can you put a stop to their wrongdoings and hold them responsible? It’s vital to be on the lookout for red flags so that you may correct the trustee’s negligent or unlawful actions via trust litigation.
Once you come to the belief that the trustee on your trust is violating their duty, you have to act. You only have three years to file a lawsuit, but the process can be lengthy, and an attorney may be your best bet.
Specify their fraudulent acts
It’s important to gather substantial proof whenever a trustee doesn’t fulfill their fiduciary duty. This means that a trustee must always act in the best interest of a beneficiary with good faith, loyalty and care. The usual grounds for filing a lawsuit due to a trustee’s misdeeds are the following:
- Failure to distribute assets in line with the terms of the trust
- Refusal to give an accounting of the trust’s assets and expenditures
- Mismanagement of the trust
- Negligence in making sound investments
- Combining trust assets with their individual assets
- Not practicing fairness when dealing with two or more beneficiaries
- Using trust assets to pay for personal costs
- Assigning their duties and responsibilities to another person
As you prepare to file a case, be reminded that an estate’s private details will become public once you dispute a trust in a probate court. This shouldn’t sway you, though, as you strive to counter a trustee’s offenses.
Replacing a wrongful trustee
Aside from bringing up a trustee’s misconduct in court, a beneficiary can take the additional step of requesting to remove or replace them. No matter the length of a trust litigation and the amount of expenses involved, you must remain steadfast in your quest to rectify the management of a trust.