Wh When en I Sa I Saw No Sta w No Standing nding The here? re? - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
How ow Cou ould ld I D I Danc ance wit ith h An Anot other, her, Wh When en I Sa I Saw No Sta w No Standing nding The here? re? Probate Attorneys of San Diego July 17, 2019 Julie R. Woods, Esq. P. Ryan Bowen, Esq. Research
Probate Attorneys of San Diego July 17, 2019
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Julie R. Woods, Esq. Research Attorney Contra Costa County Superior Court
Probate Attorney Placer County Superior Court
Probate Attorneys of San Diego July 17, 2019
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Julie R. Woods, Esq. Research Attorney Contra Costa County Superior Court
Probate Attorney Placer County Superior Court
“Except to the extent that the trust instrument otherwise provides or where the joint action of the settlor and all beneficiaries is required, during the time that a trust is revoca
ble and the person holding the power to revok
peten ent: (a) The person holding the power to revoke, and not t th the be benefic icia iary, has the rights afforded beneficiaries under this division. (b) The duties of the trustee are owed to the person holding the power to revoke.”
beneficiaries while settlor could revoke or modify a trust. (See Law Revision Commission Comments.)
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Facts:
company that tanked
he undertook while settlor was alive
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Hel eld: d: ➢After er the set e settlor tlor di dies es, ben enef efic icia iarie ies s have st e standi ding g to sue e for a breach of the trustee’s duty that was owed to the settlor when set ettlor lor was aliv ive. e. Wh Why:
substantially harm the beneficiaries by reducing the trust’s value against the settlor’s wishes.
settlor did not discover during his life, i.e., trustee should not be rewarded from concealing bad acts from the settlor.
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Relat lated ed Author
ity
angelho elho v. Pr Presoto (1998) 8) 67 C Cal.App.4t .App.4th h 615 – After settlor died, beneficiaries of the revocable trust then had standing to petition the trustee for an accounting during the period in which settlor was alive and trustee was acting.
) 76 C Cal.A l.App pp.4th .4th 83 – Trust did not become irrevocable by reason of the settlor’s conservatorship. Conservator held the power to revoke the trust for settlor-conservatee, and thus, remainder beneficiaries were not then entitled to receive a trust accounting; however, the conservator could be liable, for the trustee’s malfeasance, to the remainder beneficiaries after the trust becomes irrevocable.
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Summar mary y of Issues: es: Wh When en do do conti tinge gent t rem emain inde der ben enef efic icia iari ries es have e standi ding t g to sue th e the e trust stee ee for his is brea eache ches s of trust st aga gain inst the set e settlor? tlor?
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invalidity of two trust amendments based on lack of capacity and undue influence, breach of trustees’ fiduciary duties, requested that defendants predecease decedent, constructive trust, and damages
judicata, and laches
rights because she lacked standing to challenge the validity of the amendments until after the settlor died under Probate Code sections 17200 and 15800
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have known) about the alleged claim.
presentation of a defense. Prejudice is not presumed; defendant must affirmatively demonstrate it.
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Hel eld: d: Affirmed Rea easonin ing: g:
known about the incapacity and undue influence of settlor du durin ing settlor’s life, thus, the petitioner unduly delayed filing the underlying petition until after the settlor died.
benef efic icia iary y lacks ks standi ding g to challenge a trust so long as the ‘trust is revocable and d th the perso son n hol
ding th the p power to
the tr trust t is is co competent’ . . . The allegation of [the settlor’s] incompetency takes this matter outside the terms of section 15800.”
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Reasoning soning (contd ntd.) .)
incompetence to establish her standing to pursue those claims does not excuse her delay.”
away was necessarily prejudicial where, as here, each and every cause of action set forth in the underlying petition centered on [the settlor]—her mental capacity, defendants’ influence over her, and her understanding of the [trust amendments].”
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I feel fine!
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I feel fine!
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Dis istin ingui guishes hes it itsel elf from
irald ldin in:
someone other than himself to act as trustee, but instead appoints himself to be the trustee?
beneficiaries are concerned settlor-trustee is/was breaching the trust while settlor is/was still alive. What can the beneficiaries do?
capaci acitat tated ed or subject ject to undu due e influ fluence ence while the trust was still revocable.
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Gi Gira raldin din
standing to demand an accounting and information from the non-settlor ttlor-tr trus ustee regarding trust assets and transactions until the settlor dies, i.e., when the trust becomes irrevocable.
accounting or information regarding trust assets and transactions while the trust is still revocable. Babbitt itt
demand an accounting and information from the settlo tlor- tru rustee while the settlor is alive and incapacitated.
the deceased settlor was incapacitated or subject to undue influence during the period of revocability.
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Facts ts:
cotrustees.
accounting and information of the entire trust.
incompetent, or subject to undue influence before his death, nor did she assert a claim against wife on her father’s behalf for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, or other misconduct as cotrustee before father’s death.
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Hel eld: d:
court’s order
Section 17200, but not for an accounting and information on the trust assets before her father’s death.
the beneficiary could petition regarding that portion.
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15800, a trustee or beneficiary of a trust may petition the court under this chapter concerning the internal affairs of the trust or to determine the existence of the trust.”
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Rea easonin ing: g: (contd.)
incompetence, contingent beneficiary lacks standing to petition the probate court to compel a trustee to account or provide information relating to the revocable trust.
no longer contingent – their interests vest.
the holder of the power to revoke was alive, mature into present and enforceable rights under . . . the trust law.”
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to obtain information under § 17200 while to the portion the trust that was revocable.
an accounting of such assets after his death might reveal could support a claim for breach of trust based on actions that occurred before his death.
trust was revocable (i.e., while husband was alive and competent.)
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The long and winding road . . . Has left a pool of tears Crying for the day Why leave me standing here Let me know the way
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The long and winding road . . . Has left a pool of tears Crying for the day Why leave me standing here Let me know the way
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(a) Except as provided in Section 15800, a tr trustee ee or benef neficia iciary y of a tr trust t may peti tition tion th the court t under der th this chapter er concerning the internal affairs of the trust
(b) Proceedings concerning the internal affairs of a trust include, but are not limited to, proceedings for any of the following purposes: (1) Determining questions of construction of a trust instrument . . . (3) Determining the validity of a trust provision . . . (6) Instructing the trustee . . . (12) Compelling redress of a breach of the trust by any available remedy . . . .”
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Facts ts:
amendments were done in the three years before settlor died.
influence, and fraud.
as settlor’s daughter and a beneficiary and trustee of the trust before the last eight purported amendments, and that with a court order invalidating the amendments, she will be a beneficiary once again. So, she derived her standing as a beneficiary and a trustee from a prior version of the trust.
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Hel eld: d:
reconsideration, and the appellate court affirmed.
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Rea easonin ing: g:
beneficiary.
means a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made or that person’s successor in interest, and, [a]s it relates to a trust, means a person who has any present sent or futu ture e interes erest, vested or contingent.”
16th amendment no longer exists as a valid trust document.”
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life under § 17200:
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Code designed to allow beneficiaries and trustees operating under a trust agreement to resolve their disputes in court . . .”
under various other statutes demonstrates cleanly that appellant’s chosen vehicle was improper. A complaint alleging the same causes of action would not be barred by the beneficiary limitation of section 17200.”
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mention of the proper vehicle to proceed when a former beneficiary is contesting later trust amendments.”
beneficiaries and trustees of the contested trust . . . in such a situation the challenge is brought against the validity of the most recent version of the trust and, therefore, a former beneficiary lacks standing to petition for relief under section 17200.”
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“vehicle.”
alleging the same causes of action would not be barred by the beneficiary limitation of section 17200.”
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Dis isin inher erit ited ed Ben enef efic icia iari ries es – How can they pursue an action? Wh What are some other “vehicles”?
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Disinherit inherited ed Benefic iciari iaries es – How can they pursue an action?
er vehicles? les?
➢No, only trustee or beneficiary.
➢No, can only be settlor, trustee, or beneficiary
➢No, can only be settlor or all beneficiaries
➢No, duty is to beneficiaries/settlor
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Woods, How Could I Dance with Another, When I Saw No Standing There? (2019) Cal. Trusts & Estates Quarterly Vol. 25, Issue 2. Horwitz, Knitter, and deLeo, Assessing and Litigating Pre- Death Trust Contests: Perils, Pitfalls, and Strategies (2017)
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Come together! Help! Pbowen@placer.courts.ca.gov Jwood@contracosta.courts.ca.gov You say goodbye, we say hello!
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Come together! Help! Pbowen@placer.courts.ca.gov Jwood@contracosta.courts.ca.gov You say goodbye, we say hello!
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