Fiduciary Duty: A Foundational Tenet Trending Back Into the Forefront

In the next 15 years, a lot of older people in the U.S. will pass on their money and assets to their families, which will be the biggest transfer of wealth ever in the country. Most of this money is owned by people over 60 years old, and they are expected to pass on $4.1 trillion in the next 10 years. This will lead to challenges in planning, handling, and sharing these estates. It will affect estate planning, legal issues related to trusts and wills, companies that manage people’s money, and the overall legal rules for people in charge of others’ money. Estate planning for super rich people is complex because they have money in different countries and their families are spread out. Lawyers need to be really good at dealing with these issues and keeping up with the law. It’s also important for them to consider possible tax changes coming up. When someone passes away, their personal representative (like a family member or lawyer) has to deal with the assets they left behind. This can be tricky if the assets are unusual or rare, like a family business, online stuff, real estate, or art. The representative has to find and keep important documents and get help from experts to figure out how much everything is worth. They can also get paid extra for doing a good job. How the assets are counted and valued, and who gets them, can cause arguments. Trust and estate litigation is on the rise, especially among wealthy individuals and their families. This means more disputes over how family assets are managed and distributed. As more and more wealthy people start their own businesses, there are likely to be more conflicts over control of those businesses after the original owner dies. In addition, the growing complexity of international relationships and property ownership can add to the complications of these disputes. As the number of wealthy individuals continues to increase, we can expect to see more family members or advisors taking advantage of their positions of trust for personal gain. At the same time, the types of assets involved in these disputes are becoming more unique and specialized, making it harder for the people managing these assets to do their jobs well. This means there will likely be more disputes over how these assets are valued and managed. All of this leads to more cases being brought to court, which means more work for lawyers and judges.

Overall, as more wealthy individuals experience conflicts over their estates, the demand for legal expertise in this area is likely to keep increasing. Fiduciary duty is a concept that is always changing, especially in Florida where there are more and more disputes over trusts and estates. With the growing number of older adults and wealthy families, the law around fiduciary duty will need to adapt. It’s important for people to keep an eye on these changes in the coming years. Fla. Stat. §733.609 says that a person in charge of someone’s will has the same responsibility as a trustee of a trust. Restat. 2d of Trusts, §171(d) says that a trustee can delegate some tasks to other people, but it depends on the situation. Fla. Stat. Ann. §733.617(7) says that the court can change the amount of money the person in charge of the will gets paid based on how well they did their job and other factors. Brundage v. Bank of America says that a trustee has to do what’s best for both the person who made the will and the people who inherit the property. This article talks about the responsibilities of trustees and fiduciary duties in managing family wealth. It also discusses some legal cases where family members have fought over money. It’s important for trustees to act in the best interests of the family and not abuse their power. Both Florida law and the Restatement of Trusts allow a trustee to delegate investment functions to an agent as long as they are careful in selecting the agent and regularly monitor their actions. However, the trustee cannot completely hand over the management of the funds to another trustee and avoid responsibility. They must still be actively involved in the administration of the trust. Basically, when someone is in charge of managing someone else’s money or property, they have to keep good records and be careful with the money. The amount of money they can get paid for doing this job depends on a lot of different things, like how much money they’re handling, how well they do their job, and how much time they spend on it. If they don’t do a good job keeping records, they might not get paid as much. And there are rules about this in Florida. Some investment types like MLPs and REITs have been doing poorly, leading to big losses for investors. Banks like U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo have been accused of doing bad things, and there have been lawsuits over trust fees and banking practices. Some hedge funds are using computers to make investment decisions. David E. Wolff is a lawyer who helps with legal disputes related to trust and fiduciary duty, which can involve a lot of money. He also advises wealthy people on complex business deals and plans for taxes and trusts. He is part of a group that focuses on real estate, probate, and trust law.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/fiduciary-duty-a-foundational-tenet-trending-back-into-the-forefront/