Courts can order one side to pay the other’s legal costs in some cases, for example, where a party acts in bad faith or brings claims without any reasonable arguable foundation. You may encounter fee-shifting if a trust instrument or state law provides for it. For most trust dispute folks, who pay attorney fees [...]
A trustee may withhold distributions in Arizona if the terms of the trust or state law provide that right. If you’ve got a trust with defined guidelines as to when and how money gets distributed, trustees need to adhere to them. Certain trusts allow the trustee to withhold distributions if a beneficiary is not [...]
What can you do if beneficiaries don’t agree in Arizona? Arizona law allows you to attempt mediation, bring a petition before the probate court, or collaborate with a neutral third party to resolve the dispute. Many families have problems with how to divide assets, adhere to a will, or select a trustee. You might [...]
To respond to whether you ought to use mediation or litigation for a trust dispute in Arizona, both provide a means to resolve disputes, but each is ideal for different situations. Mediation allows you and others to tell your side in a confidential setting, usually reducing expense and delay. Litigation takes the case to [...]
If a trustee breaches their fiduciary duty in Arizona, you may see legal action, financial penalties, or removal of the trustee by the court. Trustees in Arizona are required to act in the best interest of the trust and its beneficiaries, adhere to the law, and maintain trust assets. Misappropriating trust assets or withholding [...]
Indicators of trustee fraud or mismanagement in Arizona include lost money, weak documentation, or decisions that deviate from the trust’s objectives. You may discover late or no accounting, obvious conflicts of interest, or assets misappropriated to uses outside the trust’s scheme. Unexplained changes to trust papers and a trustee who is uncommunicative or unresponsive [...]
To contest a trust in Arizona, you file a formal legal challenge in probate court, often because you believe the trust is invalid due to fraud, undue influence, lack of capacity, or improper execution. You have to demonstrate specific grounds supported by evidence, and you typically must be a beneficiary, heir, or someone who [...]
A trust is legally invalid in Arizona when it does not meet the state’s rules for creation or fails to follow the required legal steps. You need an expressed intention to create trust, a lawful purpose, and a name. It has to have a definite property to take and a trustee to take it. [...]
You can sue a trustee in Arizona if you believe the trustee breached their fiduciary duty or acted against your best interests. Arizona laws provide you with the right to sue a trustee when trust terms are broken or assets are mismanaged. Typical reasons for suing are misappropriation of funds, withholding of information, or [...]
What are your trust dispute options in Arizona? You can litigate the trust dispute, pursue mediation or other alternative dispute resolution, or collaborate with all parties to reach an out-of-court resolution. You could try mediation for a quicker and less expensive solution. A court hearing is necessary when the sides cannot agree. You can [...]