Tampa Fiduciary Litigation Attorney
Even the best laid plans go awry sometimes. It is for this reason our fiduciary litigation attorney provides unparalleled representation to protect your best interests and preserve your assets, wealth, and property. Learn more about who we represent, the issues we can handle, and how we can prove your case below.
Who We Represent
Our attorney represents anyone who has a dispute with someone that has been appointed as a fiduciary. We have a broad spectrum of clients, including:
- Individuals
- Corporations
- Charitable institutions
- Executors
- Trustees
- Partnerships
- Beneficiaries
- Banks and other financial institutions
- Stakeholders
- Trust companies
What is a Fiduciary?
A fiduciary relationship is formed when one person is responsible for managing and protecting another individual’s property. Individuals who act as personal representatives of a guardian, estate, trustee, or who has been designated as power of attorney, is a fiduciary.
Fiduciaries have very specific responsibilities and they are held to very high legal and ethical standards when carrying out their duties under state law in Florida. These duties can include using their authority to protect the best interests of all related parties, distributing property of a trust or estate according to a decedent’s wishes, avoiding conflicts of interest, making sound financial decisions, and acting in good faith at all times.
Proving a Breach of Fiduciary Duty
When a fiduciary fails to act in the best interest of a principal, it is considered a breach of fiduciary duty. While some fiduciaries abuse their position for their own financial gain, other times fiduciaries simply do not fully understand their obligations or the duties they are supposed to fulfill. A fiduciary may violate their duties by making poor investments, participating in self-dealing, and misappropriating the assets within a trust. In these instances, beneficiaries can hold fiduciaries accountable for their actions or inactions.
To successfully prove a breach of fiduciary duty, beneficiaries must prove certain elements of their case. These are as follows:
- A fiduciary relationship existed,
- The fiduciary breached their duty by acting wrongfully or negligently, and
- The beneficiaries suffered damages due to the breach.
If a beneficiary is successful with their case, they have many options available as remedies. These include:
- Removing the fiduciary from their position
- Compelling an accounting
- Recovering assets from a trust or estate
- Surcharging the trustee with excessive fees, and
- Obtaining monetary damages from the fiduciary for malfeasance.
A breach of fiduciary duty is just one issue that can result in litigation. Any time a dispute arises between a fiduciary and the beneficiaries or other interested parties, it can result in litigation.
Contact Our Fiduciary Litigation Attorney in Tampa Today
If you have questions or concerns regarding fiduciaries and the duty they owe to an estate, trust, or other entity, we can help. At BBDG Law, our Tampa fiduciary litigation attorney can answer all of your questions, provide the legal representation you need, and give you the best chance of obtaining the successful outcome you are trying to secure. Call us now at (813) 221-3759 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation and to get more information.