A fiduciary is someone who acts on behalf of someone else, owing the highest duty of care to that person. Fiduciary litigation arises out of Trust and Will disputes. In this type of litigation, a fiduciary may be in charge of a retirement plan, the Trustee of a Trust, an “Attorney in Fact” acting pursuant to a Power of Attorney, a guardian for a person deemed by a Maryland Circuit Court unable to attend to his or her personal and/or business needs, or the Personal Representative of a probate estate. If the fiduciary doesn’t act selflessly, that is if he or she places his or her personal interest above the person(s) to whom he or she owes such a fiduciary duty, then such conduct is actionable. For example, suppose John holds a power of attorney document to conduct the affairs of Steve. John uses the power of attorney for his own benefit. Steve has a cause of action against John for breach of fiduciary duty.
These types of disputes require an experienced estate planning attorney to litigate fiduciary issues like will contests, disputed Trust or Probate Accountings, removal of the Trustee of a Trust or the Personal Representative of a Probate Estate, Suits to enforce distributions from a Trust or other matters related to the creation, interpretation, or enforcement of a Will or Trust.
