Trustee Removal

In October 2018, our Probate Team (Attorneys David Eby and Tavish Brown) received a positive order from the Probate Division, Judge David King, providing a solid outcome for our client after a contentious battle with her sister.  The order drew to conclusion longstanding litigation between two sisters over the management of their father’s trust.  The litigation had previously resulted in settlement agreements; however, our client believed her sister was in contempt of the agreements and sought to remove her as trustee of the trusts.  The case was particularly complicated because it involved the application of both New Hampshire and California law.

The Court acknowledged in its lengthy order that the dispute between the sisters involved great amounts of animosity from both sides.  Our team successfully argued that the sister failed to provide adequate profit and loss statements as per the prior settlement agreements and received an order for remedial relief.  In its order, the Court mentioned that New Hampshire law strongly favors enforcement of settlement agreements.  The court removed the sister as trustee, applying California law which holds that when there is a breach of fiduciary duty against a beneficiary, the trustee may be removed from appointment.  Our team was also able to secure significant reimbursements for the sister’s maladministration of the trust and for costs of litigation.