Jason Freeman of (Jason Freeman LLP), has made available for download his article, “Does an Executor Breach Their Fiduciary Duty By Failing to Disclose Facts to Beneficiaries?,” published in JDSUPRA. The article begins as follows:
A fiduciary’s failure to disclose material facts to beneficiaries may violate their fiduciary duties. A recent Texas court’s decision outlines the fiduciary’s risks that come with the obligation to disclose.
In In re Estate of Stewart, several siblings disputed the estate of their father. Wayne was the executor of his father’s estate and filed for a judicial discharge of the probate. Jennifer, his sister, filed an objection to the judicial discharge, claiming, among other things, a breach of fiduciary duty. She prevailed at trial.
The relevant facts are relatively straightforward: Wayne was appointed executor under his father’s will. He had two brothers and one sister. Wayne made several distributions of his father’s property, which provided several specific bequests, but provided that the siblings should receive equal shares of the remainder of the property.
Posted by Bennett Mansour, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
Wealth Strategies Journal 