Recovery of Assets
Probate, Trust and Estate Litigation in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa and surrounding West Florida areas.
While most will contests and trust litigation focus around the validity or invalidity of estate planning instruments, Florida courts also maintain jurisdiction to compel trustees or personal representatives to return assets to an estate if they have been inappropriate distributed or mismanaged. This often occurs when non-professional trustees or personal representatives either do not fully understand their duties and obligations, or more unfortunately, when fiduciaries are intentionally trying to self-deal or use trust and/or estate funds for their own personal benefit.
Under these scenarios, the proper remedy to file for a breach of fiduciary duty, while requesting that the personal representative or trustee be moved from office, and requesting that they be disgorged or otherwise return the misappropriated estate and/or trust assets back into the fold. The courts often require the removed personal representative or trustee to file an accounting regarding all their dealings while they maintained the fiduciary position. These accountings often provide the necessary information for the proper estate and/or trust beneficiaries to identify the assets that should be properly recovered by the estate.
If you have concerns about potential breaches in regards to a trust or estate, please contact our office, as our attorneys routinely deal with trust and estate litigation within St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa, Sarasota, Pinellas County, and the surrounding West Florida areas.
