Executors, trustees, agents under a power of attorney, guardians and business partners all hold a position of trust. Texas law requires them to put the interests of the people they serve ahead of their own. When they do not, by taking money, hiding information or simply mismanaging what was placed in their care, the law gives the people harmed a way to hold them accountable. Borunda & Fomby represents beneficiaries, family members and business owners in fiduciary disputes, and we prepare every case for trial.
Who Is a Fiduciary?
A fiduciary is someone who has a legal duty to act for another person’s benefit. In Texas, fiduciaries commonly include:
- Trustees managing a trust for its beneficiaries
- Executors and administrators handling an estate for its heirs and beneficiaries
- Agents under a power of attorney managing someone else’s finances
- Guardians appointed to care for an incapacitated person or their property
- Partners, officers and managers of a business, depending on the relationship
What Fiduciaries Owe
Fiduciary duties generally include a duty of loyalty, a duty to avoid self-dealing, a duty of full disclosure, and a duty to manage property with care. In practice, that means a fiduciary should not use the money for themselves, should not favor one beneficiary over another without authority, should keep accurate records, and should tell the people they serve what they are doing.
Fiduciary Cases We Handle
- Breach of fiduciary duty by a trustee
- Executor and administrator misconduct, delay and self-dealing
- Misuse of a power of attorney, including unauthorized gifts and transfers
- Taking or converting estate, trust or business assets
- Failure to keep records or provide an accounting
- Financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable person
- Disputes between co-trustees and co-executors
- Breach of fiduciary duty between business partners and co-owners
- Defense of trustees and executors facing unfounded claims
Warning Signs of Fiduciary Abuse
- Refusal to share account statements or explain how money is being spent
- Large withdrawals, new joint accounts or property titled in the fiduciary’s name
- Unexplained delays in distributing an estate or trust
- Sudden changes to wills, trusts or beneficiary designations while a fiduciary was in control
- Isolating an elderly parent from other family members
- Paying themselves fees that seem excessive or undisclosed
What a Fiduciary Case Can Seek
Depending on the facts and the type of fiduciary involved, Texas courts can order a range of remedies, including:
- A full accounting of the money and property
- Removal of the trustee, executor or agent
- Return of property that was wrongfully taken, including through a constructive trust
- Damages for losses caused by the breach
- Forfeiture of fees and disgorgement of profits the fiduciary made from the breach
- In some cases, exemplary damages and attorney’s fees
Every case is different, and an attorney can explain which remedies may apply to yours.
Getting the Records
Many fiduciary cases start with a simple question: where did the money go? Texas law gives beneficiaries tools to find out, including the right in many situations to demand an accounting from a trustee or an executor, and to require an agent under a power of attorney to account for transactions. When records are refused, we can ask the court to compel them, and use subpoenas to obtain bank and brokerage records directly.
Deadlines
Many breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims in Texas must be filed within four years, but when that period starts can depend on when the wrongdoing was discovered or should have been discovered. Related claims in a probate or guardianship matter can carry different timelines. Bank records, account statements and witnesses are also easier to secure early. If you suspect a fiduciary is mismanaging money or property, talk with an attorney before more assets are lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
My sibling is the executor and will not tell us anything. What can we do? Beneficiaries are generally entitled to information about the estate. A formal demand, followed if necessary by a court request for an accounting or removal, often gets things moving. My parent’s caregiver used a power of attorney to take money. Can it be recovered? Often, yes. An agent under a power of attorney owes duties to the person who granted it, and unauthorized gifts or transfers can be challenged, including after that person has passed away. Is a fiduciary case the same as a will contest? Not always. A will contest challenges a document. A fiduciary case challenges what someone did with the money or property. Many cases involve both. See our estate and probate litigation page.
