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LA Trust Beneficiary Rights | Contingency Fees
Trust beneficiaries in Los Angeles have specific rights that are protected under California law. That means when your rights are violated, wrongdoers must be held accountable. Every day LA’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse is host to numerous estate and trust litigation disputes, and many of these cases revolve around the misbehavior of a trustee or fiduciary against a beneficiary.
According to California Probate Code 16060, trustees have a legal duty toward the beneficiaries of a trust. It is incumbent upon trustees to keep beneficiaries “reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.” A trustee must also administer the trust and its assets “with skill, care and caution, solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.” When a trustee neglects these fiduciary duties, it’s the rightful beneficiaries who suffer. Bad-faith trustees should face up to what they’ve done – at Hackard Law we frequently prosecute these litigation actions in civil court, including:
- Cases of elder financial abuse;
- Forging or altering estate or trust documents;
- Exercising undue influence on vulnerable elders;
- Breach of fiduciary duty;
- Theft or fraud by the trustee against the trust and beneficiaries;
- Excessive expenditures on an attorney to defend one’s ill-gotten gains.
When there is evidence of wrongdoing against our client, we take immediate steps to remove the trustee, suspend their powers, and appoint a new temporary trustee. Our job is to safeguard the property and assets of the trust on behalf of our clients and their families. We can move quickly and file ex-parte petitions to ensure that the perpetrator can’t drain funds from the trust to pay for their own legal defense.
In LA trust lawsuits, a beneficiary’s financial future is on the line. Hackard Law is dedicated to protecting Los Angeles clients and their rights from bad trustees. In certain instances we can handle cases on a contingency basis in accordance with highest ethical standards of the California State Bar. You can contact us at 213-357-5200. We’ll be happy to take your call and see how we can help you.