The United States government’s Administration on Aging, a part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, identifies the major types of elder abuse such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, financial abuse, etc. A type of abuse identified by the U.S. government that is seen too often in probate and inheritance matters is [...]
Archive of posts tagged Fiduciary duty
What damages are available for breach of a fiduciary duty?
The Texas Supreme Court decided a case in 2010 that answered the question of fee disgorgement. In the case, two business partners decided that one partner would sell his interest to the other partner. Partners are fiduciaries to the other partners. They also signed a non-compete clause so that the selling partner could not go [...]
What must an executor do if he discovers additional property belonging to the estate?
Once the executor or administrator in a probate case is appointed, he must file an inventory of all of the property belonging to the estate. TPC 250. The inventory has to be filed within 90 days of his appointment. Once filed, the judge will review the inventory and, if everything seems to be complete, enter [...]
Can a fiduciary duty be based on an informal relationship?
The short answer is, yes it can be. An informal relationship may give rise to a fiduciary duty when one person trust in and and relies on another, whether the relationship is a moral, social, domestic, or purely personal one. A fiduciary duty based on an informal relationship may arise when a high degree of [...]
Is a breach of fiduciary duty a crime?
Texas has a criminal statute that makes it a felony offense to misapply fiduciary property. Many of the cases dealing with the criminal aspect of misapplication of fiduciary property deal with persons who have powers of attorney over a relative. Using the power of attorney, they essentially convert the relative’s money into their own. Occasionally, [...]
Financial institution breached fiduciary duty
In a case decided in 2005, a man had an account at a financial institution. He originally opened the account as a joint account with right of survivorship with his daughter. That means that he and his daughter were joint owners and when the first one died, the account would belong to the survivor without [...]
