Is your trustee squandering or mismanaging trust assets, jeopardizing financial security, or ignoring your needs and those of other beneficiaries? Regardless of your situation, an unfit trustee threatens your current and future financial security and undermines the legacy your loved one wanted to leave behind by creating the trust. Still, as a beneficiary, when a trustee seems to be failing you, it can feel like you are powerless.
However, there are legal tools at your disposal to hold them accountable and ensure that the right person is serving as a trustee. One crucial tool is the petition to remove a trustee. We are here to explain how to leverage it to defend your inheritance! Here’s what to know.
What’s a Petition to Remove a Trustee?
As a petitioner, you hold the power to initiate the process of removing a trustee. A petition to remove a trustee is a legal document you file that formally requests the court to consider intervening and removing the trustee from a trust.
You must file this petition with the appropriate court. Court intervention is required to remove and replace a trustee. This document outlines the reasons and legal grounds for removal that you, the petitioner, have to believe the trustee is unfit to fulfill their role.
A trustee removal petition often initiates trust litigation. A co-trustee or beneficiary (i.e., those with a vested interest) can file a petition with the help of an attorney. The petition may also seek financial damages from the trustee in addition to removing them.
Still, you need to submit sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the trustee violated the terms of the trust or breached their fiduciary duty. This can take the form of acts involving undue influence, commingling funds, theft, or other violations.
To understand why working with a trust litigation lawyer is so essential for the court to consider your request, let’s explore what your petition should include.
Related Article: How Do You Prove a Breach of Fiduciary Duty?
What Should a Petition to Remove a Trustee Include?
As we mentioned, you need compelling evidence to convince the court to remove and replace a trustee. This element of the process is why working with a lawyer is so crucial.
As the petitioner, you must present sound evidence that the trustee is not fit for the role for the court to even consider removing and replacing them. Evidence can include financial records, emails, witness testimony, and more that support your allegations against the trustee.
A petition must also clearly state the specific reasons that the trustee should be removed, referred to as the legal grounds for removal. Common grounds for removal include:
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Mismanagement of assets
- Conflict of interest
- Mental incapacity
- Incompetence
- Inactivity
Your petition should also specify the desired outcome, which is the removal of the trustee and, depending on the severity of the situation, the damages you seek. Filing a petition is a complex legal process; your success hinges on premier representation.
“One of the most important considerations when you are on the verge of filing a petition is that this is just the beginning. Litigation often follows a trustee removal petition, and if you want to put yourself in the best possible position for success, only an attorney has the experience, expertise, resources, and network to file a compelling petition and advocate for you in court to defend your inheritance.”
– Anum Arshad, Associate, Gokal Law Group
Related Article: California Trust Law: Can a Trustee Be Held Personally Liable?
Do You Need to Help Using a Petition to Remove a Trustee? Let Gokal Law Group Help.
If a trustee is not fit for the role, you do not have to sit idly by while they compromise your inheritance and the integrity of the trust. A petition to remove a trustee is your legal recourse to hold an unfit trustee accountable and protect what’s rightfully yours. But you are not alone in this fight. At Gokal Law Group, we can guide you through the process, gather the necessary evidence, ensure your petition is effective, and represent you in court.
Schedule a consultation today to safeguard your inheritance.
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