Practice Areas: Private Wealth Services

Fiduciary Litigation

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Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries (1/10/2012)

Carryover Basis/GST Exemption Form 8939 Due January 17, 2012 (1/6/2012)

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McGuireWoods’ fiduciary litigation lawyers regularly represent individuals, trustees, executors, guardians, beneficiaries, charitable organizations, educational institutions, banks, trust departments, corporate officers and directors, shareholders, persons, and entities that hold a fiduciary position, and intended beneficiaries of a fiduciary relationship, in protecting against and pursuing or defending fiduciary litigation claims. The McGuireWoods team handles the following types of fiduciary litigation matters on a regular basis:

• Probate and Estate Litigation.
• Trust Disputes.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims.
• Will Contests.
• Construction of Trusts.
• Reformation of Private, Split-Interest, and Charitable Trusts.
• Guardianship Litigation.
• Employee Benefit Trusts Disputes.
• Corporate Fiduciary Duty Claims.
• Shareholder Disputes.
• Appellate Litigation.
• Federal and State Tax Disputes (Income, Estate, and Gift Tax).

The McGuireWoods fiduciary litigation practice consists of lawyers from McGuireWoods’ Fiduciary Advisory Services Group, Private Wealth Services Group, Commercial Litigation Department, and other groups to provide clients with lawyers that have both extensive litigation experience in state and federal courts and the substantive knowledge of the particular area of fiduciary litigation at issue. Many of the fiduciary litigation lawyers are nationally recognized for their expertise in the substantive area of law and are members of ACTEC or the American College of Trial Counsel.

The lawyers in the fiduciary litigation practice are experienced in counseling clients on preventing unnecessary costly litigation and avoiding future claims. The fiduciary litigation team also works with clients to resolve fiduciary litigation matters through mediation and arbitration where appropriate.
The fiduciary litigation team has experience in representing fiduciaries in appellate litigation, and in handling complex matters involving the coordination of state court litigation and related practice before the Internal Revenue Service.

Representative Fiduciary Litigation Matters

Administration of Estates and Trusts

• Represented personal representatives of a complex estate valued at approximately $1 billion in defending against claims of surviving spouse.
• Represented personal representative in search for unknown heirs and distributees, including search for Holocaust survivors and family members scattered across Europe and the U.S.
• Represented fiduciary in state supreme court litigation concerning the interpretation of powers of appointment.
• Represented fiduciaries in state supreme court litigation concerning the extent of the fiduciary duty to provide information to trust beneficiaries.
• Represented fiduciary in state supreme court litigation concerning the requisite mental capacity to execute a claim for an elective share.
• Represented fiduciary in state supreme court litigation concerning the charitable intent of the settlor.
• Represented personal representative in suit to establish lost will.
• Represented fiduciaries regularly in suits for advice and guidance in the administration of estates and trusts.
• Represented personal representatives in U.S. Tax Court litigation involving estate tax controversies.
• Represented fiduciaries in federal courts on fiduciary income tax matters.

Construction of Wills and Trusts

• Represented fiduciary in action to construe will provision restricting the sale of business valued at approximately $140 million.
• Represented personal representative in suit to identify alternative charitable beneficiaries under a will.
• Represented fiduciaries regularly in actions to construe ambiguous provisions of wills and trusts.

Restructuring of Trusts

• Represented fiduciaries in multiple lawsuits (and handled corresponding ruling requests before the Internal Revenue Service) to restructure a trust valued at approximately $100 million.
• Represented fiduciary in action to restructure a trust valued at approximately $200 million to cure state law problems regarding the termination date of the trust.
• Represented fiduciaries regularly in actions to modify trusts.

Charitable Trusts

• Defended law firm in trial court and state supreme court against claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contract, and negligence arising out of estate plan involving a charitable trust and a private foundation.
• Represented corporate fiduciaries in several suits to reform charitable trusts to avoid payment of federal excise taxes.
• Represented fiduciaries regularly to reform split-interest trusts to qualify for tax benefits connected with qualified charitable remainder trusts.
• Represented fiduciaries in over 60 suits under tax laws allowing conversion of net income charitable remainder unitrusts to flip charitable remainder unitrusts.
• Represented fiduciaries in suit to correct scrivener’s error (and handled corresponding ruling request before the Internal Revenue Service) involving charitable remainder trust.
• Represented corporate fiduciaries regularly in connection with the termination of charitable trusts or modification of charitable trusts to eliminate racial and other restrictions contrary to public policy.
• Represented prominent public charity and family members in lawsuit to remove personal representative for self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty and to restructure a large charitable bequest.
• Represented public charitable organizations and fiduciaries in connection with suit to construe bequest or trust provisions for the benefit of the charitable organizations.

Fiduciary Actions

• Represented personal representatives against claim in improper sale of business valued at more than $500 million.
• Represented limited partners against trustee/general partner in claim for breach of fiduciary duty and self-dealing arising out of sale of commercial real estate.
• Defended personal representative against claims of undue influence and fraud.
• Represented corporate fiduciaries in general fiduciary claims, including actions for removal and improper investments or sale of assets.
• Advised corporate fiduciaries on steps to minimize surcharge actions.

Adult Guardianship Litigation

• Represented corporate fiduciary in defending against lawsuit seeking to abuse Virginia guardianship proceedings to evade surcharge litigation in another state.
• Represented charitable organization in lawsuit to remedy multi-million dollar theft from an incapacitated adult and to appoint an independent conservator to manage her estate.
• Represented family members in lawsuit to remedy multi-million dollar theft from an incapacitated adult by abuses of powers of attorney and fraudulent gifts and estate planning documents.
• Defended individual against lawsuit to appoint a conservator and take control of family wealth.
• Regularly represent family members in lawsuits to appoint guardians for incapacitated family members.