Trust/Civil Litigation/Conflict of Interest

[ncjourneyman]

What is the name of your state? Florida

In a contemplated Civil Litigation Law Suit against a Trustee
of a pour over testamentary remainder Trust; is there an assumed
"ipso facto" Conflict of Interest between the two opposing litigant
parties of the Trustee/attorney for the Trustee(Trust)- AND -
the original Trust Attorney [different attorney]
who originated/drafted the trust instrument/contract? Can a
trust beneficiary litigant retain this Trust drafter [attorney] to
defend this Trust contract in this civil suit againt the Trustee?

Rephrased: Who does the Trust attorney [drafter] have legal
allegiance to?
thanks - ncjourneyman

 

[Dandy Don]

Drafter's obligation is to the settlor of the trust, the person whose assets were involved in the first place.

Why are you suing the trustee and not the original trust drafter? Please provide a brief description of the situation you are facing.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)

 

[seniorjudge]

...Drafter's obligation is to the settlor of the trust, the person whose assets were involved in the first place....

I agree....

 

[ncjourneyman]

DandyDon

Brief Description of contemplated law suit:

The Florida Probate Court has allowed this pour-over testamentary
Trust to be adjudicated Ex Parte by allowing the Trustee/Attorney
for the Trust to file Letters of Administration with only the Trustee
named as a beneficiary as Trustee of pour-over trust; while listing in
the Will; surviving children as tangible property beneficiaries as well
as the sole equal 1/2 beneficiaries (two surviving children) of the
assets of the remainder trust. No other listed beneficiaries in the
Trust. No formal documentation supplied the surviving children;
during the 9 month probate. Trustee/Attorney stonewalled in
providing proper documentation even after Florida Bar Article
of juris prudence in stating that in these cases of pour-over
trusts, trust devisees are to be considered (by the Probate
and Trust) as "interested parties" thus due formal notification.
Trust accounting reconciles/distributes less than $1M dollars,
Trustee/Attorney for Trustee charge administration fee
of max amount in Florida of approx. $10K (the cap set
for maximum fee of an estate value of above $5M);
Letters of Administration acknowledge Federal Estate Tax
due on estate (value over $1.5M). Trustee/Attorney for
Trust will not provide copy of Federal Estate Tax Form 706
to beneficiaries.

Simple Answer: Hire a good Trust Attorney !!!!

Mitigating factors:
Trustee - Bookkeeper and Tax Preparer of Testator.
Attorney for the Trustee - Personal attorney of the Testator.
Personal banker of the Testator.
CEO of the Bank chain who holds all
of Testator's asset accounts.
Personal Investor for Testator.
Circuit Judge writing/issueing Letters of Administration -
Law partner of Attorney for the
Trustee.

Past Florida Attorneys - All (4) intersted in "dealing" with Attorney for
the Trustee and Bank CEO, not Probate
Court and Florida Statutes.

Attorney General of Florida - "GET A GOOD(?) TRUST ATTORNEY".
No acknowledgement/recognition of
any "Conflict of Interest" issues.
FLORIDA LEGAL AGENDA: As a "Trust" implies; for all legal purposes
all matters of adjudication are removed
from Probate oversight and review and
relinquished to the "local" attorneys.
Only recourse to prevent FRAUD,
EMBEZZLEMENT, and MISS-APPLICATION
is through costly Civil Litigation/Suit with
the "stacked" local legal environment.
Any Suggestions?
Thanks,
ncjourneyman

 

[seniorjudge]

You need to hire an attorney now.

 

[HomeGuru]

that goes without saying**************....

 

[Dandy Don]

Is probate going on now with the will or has it finished?

You have confused the issue by using the terms pour-over testamentary trust and then saying it's a remainder trust (is it a charitable remainder trust? spousal remainder trust?); therefore it's hard to know how to advise you without looking at the actual documents.

How did you get a copy of the trust if you were not named beneficiary in it?

The attorney general advised you correctly--you need a trust attorney as soon as possible, if for no other reason to register an official complaint against the conflict of interest to get this judge replaced with someone else more impartial and objective, and also to review the trust documents to see if you are qualified to sue or not and also find out if there is previous case law similar to your case.

Is there any indication as to the worth or what the actual items are that the remainder trust covers that are going to the trustee? Have the will beneficiaries received anything from the will yet and can you afford to sue if you need to?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)