How Can You Resolve a Trust Dispute?

What Are the Most Common Disputes Involving Trusts?

Being named a beneficiary in a trust can be a pleasant surprise that can change the quality of your life and that of your children. Sadly, disputes can arise from other beneficiaries, turning the experience into an agonizing battle. Experienced Orange County estate planning attorneys highlight the following common types of trust disputes:

• The trustor’s capacity to have created the trust
• The trustor’s impaired capacity and undue influence exerted over the trustor to create or modify the trust for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries
• Contested distribution of property or inheritance, such as the percentage or amount of inheritance allotted to each beneficiary
• Self-dealing and breaches of fiduciary duty by the trustee
• Trust administration issues or ineffective trust management
• A caregiver receiving a gift under the trust
• Changes to trust terms, especially if they are perceived as unauthorized or unfair.
• Differences over the interpretation of a trust document due to vagueness or mistakes
• Disagreements among co-trustees on trust management or affairs
• Failure of trustees to provide accountings
• A beneficiary feeling left out of the trust unfairly
• Trustees do not allow financial dependents or creditors to claim assets they think they are entitled to from the trust fund
• Responding to claims against trust assets

Understanding the types of disputes can help you strategize adequately to protect your interests if conflict arises. If you’re experiencing a trust battle, skilled trust lawyers in Orange County can guide you through various dispute resolution methods.

What Are Some Effective Strategies For Resolving Trust Disputes?

Trust disputes can be uncomfortable and stressful because they often involve other beneficiaries who are family members. If the conflicts escalate, they can expose your private family affairs to the public against your wishes.

Resolving the issues can be complex without the help of experienced legal experts with knowledge in estate planning. Orange County trust lawyers can help you clear up the issues through the following strategies:

Evaluating the Trust Documents and Circumstances

It’s paramount to thoroughly evaluate the trust documents to determine the basis of the dispute. Experienced lawyers can use a legal approach to:

• Identify any breaches of fiduciary duty or mismanagement
• Assess the actions of the beneficiaries and trustees
• Review the terms and conditions of the trust

Alternative Dispute Resolution

• You can attempt to resolve trust disputes through alternative dispute resolution methods. Experienced legal experts can provide strategic advice through the following avenues:
• Mediation: Mediation is a cost-effective and non-adversarial alternative to the court process. A professional mediator, often a retired Probate Judge, will act as a neutral party to work through the issues with you and the other beneficiaries to identify the root cause of the trust conflict. Based on the information, they will assist in illuminating the issues, the costs the parties will experience in moving forward through the judicial system, and assist the parties in reaching a negotiated, agreeable solution that hopefully preserves relationships to the extent the parties desire while resolving the necessary issues.
• Arbitration: The process is more formal than mediation but also involves the expertise of a professional arbitrator who will make a binding decision about the dispute. You can all agree to insert an arbitration clause in the new agreement to prevent future conflicts. It’s important to note that a party can’t withdraw from the process unilaterally.

Arbitration and mediation are private and neutral processes where you can resolve your trust issues without public scrutiny. However, if the approaches don’t effectively solve the pending issues, you can proceed to file a lawsuit in court.

Litigation

Your trust lawyers in Orange County can help you take further legal action by filing a lawsuit if mediation and arbitration fail. They can do the following to present and fight for your interest in court:

• Prepare and file the necessary court documents
• Represent you in hearings and trials
• Advocate for your rights while fighting for a favorable outcome

Court processes for resolving such disputes can be lengthy and complex. However, skilled lawyers know how to navigate the process and the strategies to arrive at solutions that uphold the interests of the concerned parties. They can also ensure you comply with the legal requirements and meet the filing deadlines.

Replacing the Trustee

If a conflict arises because the trustee is poorly managing the trust or doesn’t perform their administrative duties effectively, it may be possible to place the trustee with a private professional fiduciary. Alternatively, if the trust provides, one of the beneficiaries can take over the role. With the help of your legal team, you could convince the court to replace the trustee to protect the interests of the trust and heirs.

The court may approve this request if you can prove that the trustee has:

• Mismanaged the trust’s assets through actions that show incompetence
• Created a conflict of interest between their interests and their fiduciary duties as trustee of the trust
• Engaged in self-dealing by failing to act in the beneficiaries’ best interest or breaching their responsibilities
• Dishonored the trust’s terms by failing to distribute the trust funds to the beneficiaries or not providing accurate and transparent accounting of transactions.
• Lost capacity to perform their roles due to mental or physical limitations.

Your estate planning lawyers in Orange County can assess the specifics of your case and advise you about other possible ways to convince the court to replace the trustee.

A Skilled Trust Lawyer Helping You Resolve Trust Disputes

Trust disputes can be frustrating because they cause family members to fall out. Skilled estate planning lawyers in Orange County can intervene to help you seek solutions to resolve the issues. They can litigate your case if out-of-court solutions fail to deliver amicable solutions. Proper planning, proactive planning, and legal guidance are key components of the process.

The Kiken Group, A Professional Corporation, has a team of dedicated trust lawyers who can evaluate your case. We understand how challenging this time can be, and you may not know how to fight for your rights. Through our expertise and legal support, we can uphold your interests in and out of court for a favorable outcome. Call us at 657-286-4782 for a FREE consultation.