A trust litigation lawyer is the person that you turn to when you believe you have grounds to file a suit against a trustee. A trustee is the third party named to manage the administration of trust assets. This person has a fiduciary responsibility, also known as a duty, to represent the best interests of the beneficiaries and to maintain high ethical standards. When this does not happen, it can lead to trust litigation. When you need help from an experienced trust litigation lawyer, do not hesitate to get help from an attorney in Tennessee.
As a Tennessee trust litigation attorney might inform you during your initial consultation, these cases can eb extremely complex. Will and trust contests are some of the most common types of estate disputes. These are situations in which there is a concern over whether or not the trust is valid or a claim that the trustee has acted inappropriately or illegally in administering trust assets. Invalid trusts or trust amendments might be nullified by the probate court if your case is handled properly by a Tennessee trust litigation attorney. Defending the validity of a trust might be another reason that you reach out to an experienced lawyer who has appropriate experience in this area. Either way you’ll need help with your inheritance dispute.
Understanding Undue Influence
One of the most common types of trust litigation has to do with undue influence. Inheritance disputes can happen when someone takes advantage of an elderly relative or a parent. This could lead this elderly individual to update their trust terms to better reflect an inheritance given to the influencing party. This could become the basis of a trust challenge, however. When an elderly person is pressured to update their trust or other estate planning documents, you can challenge this with the help of a lawyer.
What About Trustee Actions?
The biggest reason for a trust dispute has to do with concerns over trustee actions. You’ll need a knowledgeable trust litigation attorney who has appropriate experience dealing with out of control or inappropriately behaving trustees. Typically the job of a trustee is to close out the trust and to distribute assets in a timely and fair manner, keeping beneficiaries informed as they do this.
Trustees have a strict fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the trust. Whether it’s an initial trustee or a successor trustee, many of these people can act improperly and you’ll need the support of a lawyer to challenge their actions. Secretiveness is one of the most common causes of a trust dispute as this can lead to distrust among beneficiaries.
This raises suspicion and when you have evidence of this, your suspicion may be justified. When a successor trustee behaves in this way, you’ll want to have a trust litigation attorney hired as soon as possible to represent your interests before the trust assets disappear. You want to look for a law firm who has a background in handling estate and trust disputes in which serious actions were taken, such as obtaining a court order requiring a trustee to fully account for all actions they have made or holding those people personally responsible for draining trust assets. Furthermore, if you are a trustee in this situation, you will also want an experienced lawyer to represent your interests and to defend you from personal liability and for your right to continue serving as the trustee.