In In re Robinett, a party filed a petition for writ of mandamus, challenging a trial court’s order appointing a temporary administrator. No. 03-21-00649-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 926 (Tex. App.—Austin February 9, 2022,...more
In In re Bumstead Irrevocable Trust, beneficiaries of a trust sued a trustee for various causes of action and sought, and obtained, orders suspending his powers as trustee, appointing a receiver, and ordering him to prepare...more
This presentation covers trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void a trust, conflict of interest issues raised by the same attorney drafting both spouse’s...more
4/21/2022
/ Closely Held Businesses ,
Co-Trustees ,
Community Property ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Separate Property ,
Settlors ,
Spouses ,
Trust Administration ,
Trust Assets ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Webinars
In Estate of Erwin, a husband died leaving some property to his wife and creating two trusts, naming his wife as the trustee and beneficiary with his children as remainder beneficiaries. No. 13-20-00301-CV, 2021 Tex. App....more
In In re Estate of Aldrete, a decedent’s son from a first marriage had a 1981 will admitted to probate, which left real property to him. No. 04-20-00426-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 322 (Tex. App.—San Antonio January 19, 2022, no...more
In LaPree v. LaPree, a wife had three trusts where she was the primary beneficiary. No. 03-20-00465-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 1325 (Tex. App.—Austin February 24, 2022, no pet. history)....more
In Janine v. McAfee, parties fought over who should be the administrator of an estate. No. 01-20-00717-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 10101 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more
In Rotstain v. Trustmark Nat’l Bank, plaintiffs sued banks for assisting Stanford and his entities regarding a Ponzi scheme. No. 3:09-CV-2384-N, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332 (N.D. Tex. January 20, 2022). ...more
In Clark v. Clark, two brothers sued a third brother regarding the third brother’s ability to be trustee of a trust due to a traumatic brain injury. No. 14-19-00604-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 9866 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th...more
In MBM Family Trust No. 1 v. GE Oil & Gas, LLC, a plaintiff filed suit against a defendant and his companies to domesticate a foreign judgment. No. 05-20-01103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7698 (Tex. App.—Dallas September 17,...more
In Wells Fargo, N.A. v. Clower, a trustee filed suit for declaratory relief regarding its discretion to make income distributions. No. 02-20-00058-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7675 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth September 16, 2021, no...more
This presentation will address the various issues that arise when a trustee enters into a self-interested transaction with the trust. Among other issues, it will address the duty of loyalty, the presumption of unfairness,...more
2/17/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Consent Agreements ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Release Agreements ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Dealing ,
Self-Interest ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Webinars
In McEndree v. Volke, a beneficiary sued a trustee, her former step father, for breaching fiduciary duties. No. 11-19-00351-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7856 (Tex. App.—Eastland September 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more
In Flores v. Branscomb PC, before her death, the decedent hired counsel to prepare a new will. No. 13-18-00411-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 4612 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi June 10, 2021, no pet. history)....more
David F. Johnson co-presented “Minority Investor Rights in Private Companies: Buy-Sell Agreements, Court-Ordered Buyouts, Breach of Fiduciary Duty” for a nationwide audience for Stafford Webinars on January 20, 2021. David...more
1/25/2022
/ Breach of Duty ,
Buy-Sell Agreements ,
Buyouts ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
General Corporation Law ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Partnerships ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders
A common complaint of a minority shareholder is the denial of access to the corporation’s books and records. A shareholder enjoys the right to examine and copy certain records of the corporation in which the shareholder owns...more
1/17/2022
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Books & Records ,
Improper Purpose ,
Jury Trial ,
Mandamus Petitions ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
Writ of Mandamus
In Goepp v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., the settlors created inter vivos trusts and their three children were the remainder beneficiaries. No. 03-19-00485-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5461 (Tex. App.—Austin July 9, 2021, no pet....more
In Quintanilla v. De La Rosa, a defendant appealed the trial court’s issuance of a temporary injunction enjoining her from withdrawing money from a bank account that belonged to a decedent. No. 13-20-00575-CV, 2021 Tex. App....more
In R.P. Small Corp. v. Land Dep’t, Inc., the plaintiff sued the defendant for breaching fiduciary duties due to a confidential relationship regarding oil and gas development. No. H-20-14902021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133695 (S. D....more
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Litigating Self-Interested Transactions Involving Fiduciaries” to the State Bar of Texas’s Fiduciary Litigation Course on December 2-3, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. This presentation...more
David F. Johnson presented “Trust Issues In Divorce Proceedings” on November 17, 2021. This presentation covered trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void...more
11/22/2021
/ Beneficiaries ,
Conflict Resolution ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Family Trusts ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Spouses ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
David F. Johnson presented “Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims” to a national audience on November 16, 2021, via Strafford publishing with his co-presenter Scott E. Rahn,...more
In In re Estate of Clark, a trial court entered an order allowing a family allowance for the decedent’s wife. No. 02-20-00211-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5685 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 15, 2021, no pet. history)....more
In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more
11/19/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fitness for Particular Purpose ,
Power of Attorney ,
Probate ,
Probate Courts ,
Residual Clause ,
Standard of Review ,
Trustees ,
Wills
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Is There a Trustee Get Out of Jail Free Card? The Use of Exculpatory Clauses in Trust Documents in Texas” to the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts, and Estates Section on October 26,...more