What Business Professionals Should Know About Living Trust Litigation

(Photo : Zachary Caraway)

Every business professional desires to manage and protect their hard-earned assets, ensuring their financial wishes are carried out both in life and even after their death. By now most professionals have learned that simply drafting a will is insufficient to this task, providing way too much risk for assets to be seized or mishandled by the probate court. For much stronger safeguards, living trusts are a great, increasingly popular option.

Robust though living trusts may be, their sheer intricacy means that disputes may sometimes arise, whether from wounded family members or disgruntled business partners. When disputes do arise, it's vital to enlist the services of a reputable trust litigation agency. Only through effective living trust litigation can professionals ensure full business asset protection.

What is Living Trust Litigation?

To understand the importance of enlisting a trust litigation agency, it's first helpful to get some background about what living trusts are and how they work.

Living Trusts 101

A living trust is an estate planning document wherein the person who creates the trust, known as the grantor, directs how their assets are managed and distributed, both in life and after their death.

The living trust is popular because it allows business professionals to keep their estate out of the probate court. This maintains their confidentiality, ensures that their wishes are upheld without any unwanted court intervention, and helps surviving heirs and beneficiaries to avoid the costs and headaches associated with a prolonged legal process.

Living trusts are legal documents that create a separate legal entity, a trust, into which assets may be named; named assets belong not to the grantor but to the trust itself, and they are managed by an appointed trustee. The grantor may provide direction for how the assets should be invested, managed, or allocated, and the trustee has a legal duty to promote the best interests of the grantor and the named heirs and beneficiaries.

Living Trust Disputes

While this estate planning vehicle is undoubtedly a helpful tool for business professionals, there may still be the occasional need for living trust litigation. This is especially true when a legal dispute arises.

Disputes over a living trust may arise for any number of reasons, but some of the most common include:

• Arguments, objections, or protests raised by the named heirs and beneficiaries, or by surviving family members not named in the living trust.

• Questions of the trust's validity, including questions about the grantor's state of mind when the trust was drafted or updated.

• Accusations of misconduct on the trustee's part, including any breach of the trustee's fiduciary responsibility.

• Issues with the administration of the trust, including questions about the trustee's allocation of named assets.

If any such legal question arises, it may be critical to engage the services of a trust litigation agency.

Why Business Professionals Should Care About Living Trust Litigation

Living trusts are incredibly relevant to the business world, which makes it important to be prepared for any potential trust litigation needs. Some reasons why business professionals might especially care about living trusts include:

Business Asset Protection

Without the proper estate planning documents in place, a business professional's hard-earned assets are likely to be plunged into the probate court, a process that will almost certainly erode the value of the assets as different legal fees accumulate.

Smoother Transitions and Continuity

By choosing a living trust, professionals can ensure that their wishes are promptly and precisely carried out without the need for legal intervention, ensuring not just a smoother transition but greater continuity on behalf of their business or team.

Avoiding Complications

Having assets (such as ownership of the business itself) passed along to the appropriate person, without any legal obstacles or bumps in the road, can eliminate any possible interruptions to the company's operation, ensuring the smoothest trajectory for customers, investors, and employees alike.

The Crucial Role of a Trust Litigation Attorney

When disputes about a living trust do arise, they can be complex by their very nature. They can also be thorny, sometimes pitting the interests of two feuding family members or competing business successors in tension with one another. Those who are unprepared to handle these issues may face lengthy or expensive legal battles, with no guarantee of a satisfactory outcome.

A reputable trust litigation agency brings considerable strengths to the table, including:

• Expertise in the specific nuances of estate law.

• Experience mediating and resolving trust disputes.

• The ability to safeguard the wishes of the grantor and to protect the rights of all beneficiaries.

• The knowledge required to navigate the estate court system efficiently and effectively.

For Business Professionals, Knowledge of Living Trust Litigation is Key

Business professionals have a vested interest in their assets being properly preserved and stewarded, even after their death. Establishing a living trust is a step in the right direction, but to avoid unwelcome surprises, knowing the name of a skilled living trust litigator is recommended.

Ensure your assets and business interests are protected. Engage with reputable trust litigation attorneys to navigate the complexities of living trust disputes.

Disclaimer:

Max Alavi APC, OC Trusts Lawyer, contributed this blog post as an educational resource. The material is meant for informational purposes only and not to provide legal advice because laws and regulations may differ across states, and each case may be unique. If you have any questions about the content of this post, it is recommended that you seek advice from a local Estate and Probate attorney.