Provisions contained within trust agreements called “Exculpatory Provisions” are those that relieve the trustee from liability for certain acts that could otherwise be considered to be a breach of duty(ies) as a Trustee. Examples: 1.) the settlor (the person who is creating the trust) can specify that the Trustee is relieved from liability for certain obligations for which it would otherwise be liable under either the Texas Trust Code or by common law; or 2.) can direct or permit the Trustee to do certain things that would otherwise violate a Trustee duty.
Monthly Archive for February, 2010
In Texas, the testator (the person making a will) has the power to designate his or her executor to be an “independent executor”. Proper use of the term “independent” to describe the executor in the will means that the independent executor may, after the will has been admitted to probate and Letters Testamentary have been issued to the independent executor, take virtually all estate related action free of the need for any hearings or approval by a Probate Court. Unfortunately, some executors take advantage of this far reaching freedom to abuse their power(s) as an executor (an executor is also a fiduciary). The Texas Probate Code allows a court, after a hearing, to remove the person designated as the independent executor of the estate when any of the following grounds have been proved to the presiding judge:
Any kind of action in which a court is asked to change, modify or otherwise amend the terms of the trust instrument, or to prohibit or permit a trustee to take actions that are not authorized by the terms of the trust, or to terminate a trust either in its entirety or in part, is referred to as a trust modification. Trust modifications are regulated by Section 112.054 of the Texas Trust Code.
Continue reading ‘When can a court make changes to an irrevocable trust?’
