158 results for 'cat:"Trusts"'.
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Hawai’i finds in this report and motion for fees and cost submitted by the attorney as successor trustee. The timesheet for requested fees is well documented and the hours are reasonably related to the work and trusteeship. The order and fees are approved in full. The trustee is discharged as successor trustee.
Court: Hawai'i Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: SCAD-21-444, Categories: trusts
J. Boatwright finds the trial court properly dismissed the beneficiaries' amended complaint in their lawsuit seeking reimbursement of funds paid from a deceased grantor's trust to pay off a $988,867 debt from a loan the grantor and his wife took out, most of which was used to improve and maintain their home. The trial court correctly determined that the beneficiaries do not have standing to bring their claims, as it would have to be the trust's successor trustee itself to sue for the damages the beneficiaries seek from the disputed transaction, and the beneficiaries have brought no common law exception that would allow them to sue on behalf of the trust. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Boatwright, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 22-1114, Categories: trusts, Damages, Contract
J. Hood finds that the lower court should have held that actions in which a husband's trust funded a supplemental care trust constituted a payment made for the benefit of plaintiff, an "institutionalized spouse," in claims seeking Medicaid benefits following the husband's death. Affirmed in part.
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals, Judge: Hood, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 356756, Categories: Civil Procedure, Medicaid, trusts
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J. Simons finds the probate court improperly determined that the family-owned company lacks standing to participate in a family trust petition filed by certain owners because it was not a beneficiary or a trustee. Each of the siblings own an equal share of the company and a shareholder agreement provides that shareholders can borrow and lend money and transfer assets. Probate Code permits the court to designate as an interested person anyone having an interest in an estate which may be affected by a probate proceeding and the court must make the discretionary determination as to whether the company is an interested person. Reversed and remanded.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Simons, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: A166997, Categories: trusts, Wills / Probate, Contract
J. Baker finds a lower court properly ordered a patient, now deceased, to undergo extubation. The patient's family argued that her Trust failed to communicate whether or not extubation was the proper avenue. However, the hospital staff sufficiently showed in court that, following a collapse, her health rapidly declined when she suffered cardiac arrest, which resulted in untreatable, permanent hypoxic brain injury. Affirmed.
Court: Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, Judge: Baker, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: CA-2023-1710, Categories: Health Care, trusts
J. Lie finds the county court improperly entered judgment in favor of the beneficiary under a deed of trust executed by the borrower, which purchased trust property subject to the borrower’s pending wrongful foreclosure action. Where the pendency of the wrongful foreclosure action raised an issue of title that could not be adjudicated in an unlawful detainer proceeding, the purchaser could not serve the notice to quit or maintain an unlawful detainer action until the notice or pending litigation had been resolved. The court erred in precluding the borrower from raising the notice of pending litigation to rebut the purchaser’s claim of duly perfected title. Reversed and remanded.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Lie, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: H049791, Categories: trusts, Banking / Lending, Foreclosure
J. Fujisaki finds the probate court improperly instructed the successor trustee to immediately sell properties that are assets of trusts whose beneficiaries are the museum and music conservatory and distribute the proceeds to the beneficiaries. A provision granting the trustee “sole discretion” to distribute trust property in cash or in kind was improperly interpreted by the probate court as requiring an immediate sale of the properties. Vacated and remanded.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Fujisaki, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: A165397, Categories: Property, trusts, Due Process
J. Goldstein finds that the lower court improperly granted summary judgment to the bank on the trustee's claim for tortious interference with contract. The bank argued that the statements made by the bank president were true and that the truth represented "an absolute total defense" to the claim. However, there is no authority showing that "a Texas court recognized truth as a stand-alone affirmative defense to tortious interference with an existing contract." Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Goldstein, Filed On: October 9, 2023, Case #: 05-21-00878-CV, Categories: trusts, Interference With Contract
Per curiam, the court of appeals finds that the trial court improperly dismissed with prejudice in favor of the appellees a second amended complaint for a “pay-on-death” beneficiary. The court granted this motion based on another similar case by reading the holding to broadly. The beneficiary had made no claim for tortious interference with the inheritance and the alleged bank accounts were owned by her outside the estate. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 6D23-1351, Categories: Tort, trusts, Interference With Contract
J. Gordon grants the loan servicer’s motion for summary judgment, declaring that the deed of trust for which it is the beneficiary remains an encumbrance on the property sold by the homeowner’s association at a foreclosure sale and transferred to the trust. No genuine dispute remains that the HOA did not substantially comply with notice requirements to the original beneficiary of record under the deed of trust. The loan servicer is prejudiced because the original loan servicer on the property was deprived of the opportunity to cure the default, which it would have done had it been given notice.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Gordon, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 2:16cv2653, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property, trusts, Banking / Lending
J. Moeller vacates the lower court’s judgment in favor of a trust because the suing trust did not have standing to assert their claims objecting to the establishment of an affordable housing project on county land designated for public use. Costs, though not attorney fees, are issued to the sued housing authority, housing trust and county.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 48799, Categories: trusts, Housing
J. Kuhn finds the probate court properly interpreted the trust's standard of living provision to mean the standard enjoyed by the wife in the year after the couple separated but before the husband's death. The marriage was not terminated during the separation and so it was legally part of their married life. Additionally, the trust did not become irrevocable until the husband's death and so her income and standard of living was properly calculated according to the language in the trust. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Kuhn, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2023COA89, Categories: trusts, Wills / Probate
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly entered two orders in which it denied requests to hold an individual, a trust and a hotel in contempt in a matter involving a property sale. Denial of the contempt requests was valid because none of the entities in question "willfully or contumaciously" violated the court's order. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 2023SD52, Categories: Contempt, Property, trusts
J. Virden finds the circuit court properly awarded $39,085 in attorney fees to the estate administrator in the underlying trust-administration case regarding the removal of the trustee. Detailed findings were made regarding how the amount was calculated, and nothing indicates that the court granted the award without due consideration. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden , Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: CV-21-40, Categories: trusts, Wills / Probate, Attorney Fees
J. Wise finds that the lower court improperly ruled when denying the motion to add all siblings, who are all heirs, to an estate suit that was initially between three siblings. The remaining heirs have interests in the subject property and are "necessary parties" based on the relevant statute. Reversed.
Court: Alabama Supreme Court, Judge: Wise, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: SC20230264, Categories: Real Estate, trusts, Wills / Probate
J. Klappenbach finds the circuit court properly refused to set aside a trust on direct appeal, and properly removed a trustee on cross appeal in this dispute involving multiple extended family members. The trustee, a friend of the deceased, resisted revealing trust documents and did not perform an accounting until required to do so by the circuit court. This was a “serious” breach of the fiduciary duties. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: CV-20-656, Categories: trusts, Fiduciary Duty
J. Moeller holds that substantial evidence that charitable donations were directed to victims of a mass stabbing supported the magistrate court's conclusion that a trust had been formed. The trust was within its discretion to make a final distribution and the distribution was reasonable. The magistrate court properly limited evidence to the reasonableness of the method used to distribute the donations. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 49678, Categories: trusts, Due Process
J. Arthur upholds the lower court's determination that an appeal should be heard in Pennsylvania (PA), not in Maryland (MD), after a realty investment trust demanded payment from a limited liability corporation because the trust's commercial tenant in PA defaulted. The corporation filed suit in Montgomery County, MD, seeking a declaration that it does not have liability on the guaranty, and moments later, the trust filed suit in Montgomery County, PA, the location of the property. In this case, the trust anticipated the corporation's filing in MD, so filed its own in PA because it thought MD may review the corporation's damages claims with more scrutiny than PA. Typically in a case like this, the rule is to proceed with litigation in the county where either party filed first. However, in this case, because the trust filed in PA in anticipation of the corporation's MD filing, the first-to-file rule will not be used and PA is the appropriate venue.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Arthur, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 485946-V, Categories: Civil Procedure, Corporations, trusts
J. Rodriguez finds that the trial court properly refused to dismiss the daughters' claim under the Texas Citizens Participation Act in a breach of fiduciary duty complaint against the father arising from his actions while serving as co-trustee of their identical irrevocable trusts. The daughters alleged that the father breached his fiduciary duty by continuing the prosecution of crossclaims for damages against the mother despite the daughters' opposition. The Act does not apply to claims brought by trust beneficiaries for violations of the trust code. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00119-CV, Categories: trusts, Fiduciary Duty
J. Cypher finds that the lower court improperly awarded partial summary judgment to the niece in a case where decedent left funds to be used to care for her cocker spaniel, Licorice, but the dog died before her, making the correct way to distribute the funds unclear. While the trust is meant to take care of Licorice and any other pets following her death, with the remaining funds to be donated to charity, that does not necessarily mean decedent intended for the funds to be donated to charity if her pets died before her. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Cypher, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: SJC-13397, Categories: trusts, Wills / Probate
[Consolidated.] J. Rochford finds the circuit court, in this very complex ruling involving a 53-year-old Illinois man and his 23-year-old Thai mistress, and the Thai court’s support order regarding their triplets conceived through in-vitro fertilization, improperly approved a trust provision that, if he died before the trusts terminate, any remaining funds shall be distributed to his heirs at law. Remaining funds should be returned to his estate, as the triplets will be 20-year-old adults, and obligations under the modified Thai judgment and the purpose of the trusts ends. The man’s wife in Illinois and the mistress’s husband in the UK are also involved in the litigation concerning property, support, millions of dollars, two marriages and three adult relationships and their relationships with the children, spanning three continents and several courts, and is variously affirmed, reversed, vacated and remanded.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Rochford, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 1-19-0572, Categories: Family Law, International Law, trusts