Estate and Trust Fiduciary Litigation: Minimizing and Defending Breach of Duty Claims

Estate planning counsel must be prepared to handle the complexities of fiduciary litigation now more than ever. Fiduciary scrutiny is increasing due to an aging population, a sense of entitlement by beneficiaries, and a thriving economy. Beneficiaries are filing suits for actions they perceive to be against their best interests or in opposition to settlors' intentions. Lawsuits also allege fiduciaries are ill-equipped to handle the administration of complex estates and trusts.

Some individuals are subject to liability exposure, including trustees being held responsible for the actions of other trustees, employers, and managers of fiduciaries, or principals who have outsourced fiduciary responsibility to an agent.

Adverse outcomes from fiduciary litigation can cause a great deal of harm to financial professionals, institutional fiduciaries, and wealth management companies. Thus, counsel must be prepared to implement best practices to minimize exposure from the beginning, leverage defense techniques, and curtail harsh financial penalties and removal.

Listen as our distinguished panel reviews litigation techniques for defending trustees, executors, and administrators in fiduciary litigation. The panelists will discuss actions for breach of fiduciary duty within the estate and trust context, current defenses available, and how to minimize penalties in the worst-case scenario. Finally, the panelists will review techniques to mitigate exposure to breach of duty claims.