Can the Trustee of an Irrevocable Trust Be Sued?
You can file a lawsuit against anybody for any reason, including trustees of an irrevocable trust, but that doesn't mean the lawsuit will get very far. In order to bring about a successful civil suit, you must first have standing to bring the suit, you must show damages, and you must show that the trustee is legally liable for the damages.
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Standing
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To have a court hear your claim, you must show that you have been injured by the actions or negligent non-actions of the trustee, and that there is a substantial likelihood that your injury will be mitigated or you will be at least partially made whole if the court rules in your favor. If you are neither the grantor nor the beneficiary of the trust, you may have a hard time getting a court to hear your case.
Fiduciary Duty
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A trustee generally has the legal responsibility to act as a fiduciary to the beneficiaries of the trust. This is the highest level of trust and responsibility recognized under the law. The trustee must serve the beneficiaries as specified in the language of the trust, and must put their interests above his own in all cases and in all respects. Trustees can be sued for failure to adhere to a fiduciary standard, if the plaintiffs can show damages.
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Specific Duties
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The trustee has a number of specific duties under the law in his position as a fiduciary. Among them are a duty of loyalty to the beneficiaries, a duty of impartiality between multiple beneficiaries, a duty to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest, and a duty to protect and preserve the assets in the trust. A trustee who fails in these responsibilities may well be sued successfully in a court of law.
Irrevocable Trusts
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The fact that a trust is irrevocable or not has nothing to do with whether the trustee may be successfully sued; the fiduciary responsibilities of the trustee and the requirements for standing and damages remain the same in either case. If the trust is revocable, the grantor has the additional recourse of dissolving the trust, if he doesn't like how it is being administered.
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