It’s an unfortunate reality that the fiduciary who has been appointed to represent your interests can drop the ball on their responsibilities, abuse their power or breach their duties. If you believe a fiduciary has committed misconduct, a case can be built and brought against them.
Let a Keystone attorney help you navigate your fiduciary misconduct matter and find the best remedy to address your concerns so you can feel confident that your interests are being protected.
If you suspect fiduciary misconduct, it is crucial to act quickly to correct the problem, or the fiduciary could continue their problematic behavior and cause irreversible financial harm. Likewise, if you are a fiduciary who has been wrongfully accused of misconduct, it is important to retain counsel promptly to assist in your defense before the court issues any rulings adverse to your interests.
Keep reading to learn more about Keystone’s fiduciary misconduct services. If you continue to have questions or concerns, we recommend that you schedule a free consultation with our team.
Fiduciaries are persons or entities that have been appointed to act on behalf of a person or persons. They have a duty to act in good faith and solely in the best interests of the persons they represent. Spouses also may be subject to the general rules governing fiduciaries on account of the confidential relationship they share with each other.
To enable them to effectively carry out their duties, fiduciaries generally are granted a great deal of power; however, with power comes the potential for abuse. The sad reality is that many fiduciaries improperly use their power for personal gain or other unethical reasons instead of using it to make decisions that benefit the persons they represent. When they breach their duties in this way, it is considered fiduciary misconduct.
Luckily, if fiduciary misconduct is discovered early, legal actions can be taken to reverse the damage the fiduciary caused. By working with Keystone’s skilled fiduciary misconduct attorneys, you can devise a strategy to achieve your litigation goals, which may include forcing the fiduciary to comply with your requests, removing and replacing the fiduciary and/or surcharging them for any damage they caused.
When you discover that the person acting as your fiduciary has mishandled your assets, it can be distressing. The person entrusted to protect your interests and assets flouted their obligations and possibly even caused harm to your finances.
While a realization such as this can be a hard pill to swallow, you don’t have the luxury of time when it comes to bringing a fiduciary misconduct claim. During the claims process, you will have to introduce evidence, such as financial documents, to support your allegation of misconduct. This can be difficult to do on your own; however, with the help of an attorney, the process can be streamlined.
On the other hand, if you are a fiduciary and believe you have been wrongfully accused of misconduct, it is also vital for you to retain a lawyer with experience in fiduciary misconduct cases to build a strong defense on your behalf, because losing could mean that you will be liable for paying damages and other costs relating to the misconduct out of your own pockets. It is also important to note that if you are a fiduciary with concerns that you might fail in your duties, overstep or inadvertently commit misconduct, Keystone can counsel you as you navigate your role to ensure you do not err in any way.
Regardless of which side of a fiduciary misconduct matter you are on, the team of attorneys at Keystone is ready to help secure for you the resolution you want.
Below are examples of the types of fiduciary misconduct cases Keystone handles:
Trustee or executor misconduct occurs when the fiduciary violates their duty of loyalty to beneficiaries/heirs by acting in bad faith and/or not placing their best interests first.
Examples of trustee/executor misconduct include:
Power of attorney misconduct occurs when the person who has been appointed as a principal’s attorney-in-fact through a power of attorney document abuses their power.
Examples of power of attorney misconduct include:
Conservator misconduct occurs when the person appointed to be the conservator of an incapacitated adult is not acting in their best interests and/or adequately protecting them.
Examples of conservator misconduct include:
Guardian misconduct occurs when the adult appointed to manage a minor’s personal needs and/or estate is failing to look out for the best interests of the child.
Examples of guardian misconduct include:
Spousal misconduct occurs when a spouse uses their position of confidence to act in bad faith and take advantage of their spouse.
Examples of spousal misconduct include:
The spouse is gifting community property without their spouse’s consent.
In the context of probate, fiduciary misconduct cases can involve everyone from beneficiaries and heirs, to executors and trustees, to conservators and guardians, to health care proxies and attorneys-in-fact.
Regardless of which category you belong to, Keystone’s skilled team of attorneys is enthusiastic about serving you in your fiduciary misconduct matter. You can find some of the types of clients we represent in fiduciary misconduct cases below.
When a fiduciary is engaged in misconduct, beneficiaries’ and heirs’ inheritances are under threat. Keystone can help beneficiaries and heirs investigate their misconduct claim and bring litigation if necessary.
In the event a successor trustee has a claim brought against them for fiduciary misconduct, Keystone can defend them to help protect them against liabilities. Our team can also help trustees bring a claim against a former fiduciary of the deceased settlor who caused harm to their trust.
If an executor or administrator has been accused of fiduciary misconduct, Keystone can defend them and help protect them against liabilities. If there are concerns a prior fiduciary of the decedent financially exploited them, our firm can also help personal representatives bring a claim on behalf of the estate.
In the event a conservator or guardian has breached their duties, Keystone can help the families of the victims bring litigation against the fiduciary who acted improperly. Keystone can also defend conservators and guardians who feel they have been wrongfully accused of misconduct.
The authority attorneys-in-fact and health care proxies wield over the person they represent is governed by the specific terms of their contract. If there is evidence to show they defied these terms or abused their power, Keystone can help anyone with the authority to litigate on behalf of the principal bring a claim against the fiduciary. Our team can also defend attorneys-in-fact and health care proxies who have been wrongfully accused of misconduct.
Keystone’s knowledgeable team of misconduct lawyers is specialized in probate law and proud to offer a variety of fiduciary misconduct services. As demonstrated by the following case studies, we bring our unique expertise into every case we work on and are dedicated to helping you reach a favorable resolution to your matter.
The Keystone team specializes in all types of probate law matters. Regardless of whether you are fiduciary seeking to defend yourself against a misconduct claim or you are being represented by a problematic fiduciary, our fiduciary attorneys are standing by to help you achieve your legal goals.
We’re proud to help clients with fiduciary misconduct cases in California. We look forward to working with you.
At Keystone, because our attorneys exclusively focus on probate law, they have a knowledge of the field that is unsurpassed and can consistently provide you with superior representation in your fiduciary misconduct cases. Members of our team have earned many accomplishments and accolades, including:
We specialize in fiduciary misconduct matters across California, commonly serving:
In this section, you can find answers to many of the questions we receive from our clients regarding fiduciary responsibilities and misconduct. If you have additional questions, please contact our team of probate attorneys for more information.
Fiduciary misconduct can be notoriously difficult to detect, especially if the fiduciary in question is not upholding their responsibility to communicate with you and/or provide you with accountings. In fact, a fiduciary’s failure to share information with interested parties can in itself be a red flag that misconduct might be taking place.
Signs of fiduciary misconduct can include:
While the above list is not exhaustive, it can give you an idea of the types of red flags that warrant the involvement of fiduciary misconduct lawyer.
First, it is important to keep in mind that fiduciaries are generally only required to keep you reasonably informed about their actions. Of course, what the fiduciary finds reasonable may not be what you find reasonable, which is why conflicts can arise, At the end of the day, your fiduciary should provide you with enough information for you to enforce your rights.
It is a good idea to request information from your fiduciary in writing; this way, if you need to take the matter the court, you will have evidence to back up your misconduct claim. If, after multiple written requests, your fiduciary is still failing to communicate, it may be necessary to involve a lawyer. Sometimes, pressure from a lawyer may be all that is required to compel the fiduciary to comply with your requests, Other times, it may be necessary to sue the fiduciary for the information you want.
Not necessarily. When the fiduciary whom you’ve entrusted with managing your hard-earned money causes financial losses, it can be distressing; however, their actions would only constitute misconduct if the fiduciary acted in bad faith or against your best interests.
Let’s suppose that you asked your fiduciary to invest your money in low-risk stocks, but then the stock market suddenly crashes, destabilizing stocks that have historically been stable. Would that be your fiduciary’s fault? Your fiduciary heeded your preferences, but circumstances out of their control caused your stock portfolio to plummet. In this instance, fiduciary misconduct likely did not occur.
Now, if the fiduciary acted negligently or against your best interests, which resulted in financial losses, then there may be reason to bring a fiduciary misconduct claim.
A fiduciary bond is akin to insurance for interested parties (e.g., beneficiaries, heirs, creditors, conservatees, wards). In the event the fiduciary breaches their duties intentionally or unintentionally, causing harm to the assets of the person or persons they represent, a fiduciary bond can help limit the damage caused by the fiduciary.
In a probate action, whether a fiduciary needs a bond, as well as the amount of the bond, is generally determined by the court.
If your fiduciary has a lawyer, they likely hired that lawyer to protect their interests, not yours. In other words, the fiduciary retained a lawyer to guide them as they perform their duties to ensure no errors are made.
When it comes to protecting your interests, that is your fiduciary’s job, so in an ideal world, you would not need a lawyer. That being said, many fiduciaries flout their duty of loyalty; therefore, it could be a good idea to have a lawyer on your team to not only monitor the fiduciary’s actions but also to protect your best interests in the event the fiduciary is going against them.
If you are being represented by a fiduciary who you feel has acted in a way that goes against your best interests, or you are a fiduciary looking to protect yourself against liability in a misconduct case, you need a skilled attorney on your side. Having a lawyer with experience litigating fiduciary misconduct matters can be invaluable in bringing or defending a claim. Speak to one of our attorneys as early as today by scheduling a free consultation.