An executor, administrator or trustee holds property that belongs to other people. When that person sells estate land to himself, moves money into a personal account, pays personal bills from the estate, or stops reporting to the beneficiaries, that is a breach of fiduciary duty. This page covers what you can demand and how Tarrant County’s local rules affect the case.
Most of these cases start with a written demand, not a lawsuit. Under Estates Code Section 404.001, once 15 months have passed since letters were first issued, an interested person can demand a sworn accounting from an independent executor. If the executor doesn’t comply within 60 days, you can ask the court to compel it.
The accounting has to show what came in, what went out, and what is still on hand. A fiduciary who has been taking money rarely produces an accounting that holds up to a close review, and the gaps usually become the basis for the claim.
Tex. Est. Code § 404.001.
If the property is in a trust, the demand is made under Property Code Section 113.151. A beneficiary can demand a written accounting from the trustee, and if the trustee doesn’t deliver it within 90 days, the beneficiary can sue to compel it. Families often need both demands, because the same relative is often both the executor of a parent’s estate and the trustee of the parent’s trust. Making the two demands together lets you compare dates and figures side by side.
Tex. Prop. Code § 113.151.
These are factual questions. Bank records, closing documents and the fiduciary’s own emails usually answer them.
Under the local rules, the Tarrant County probate courts will refer a case to mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution on the court’s own motion or by agreement. Probate Court No. 1’s policies require mediation before a final trial unless there is good cause. Your accounting analysis will probably be read by a mediator before a judge or jury sees it, so it needs to be clear enough for someone who isn’t an accountant to follow.
Tarrant County probate courts’ local rules, Rule 2.01(a).
Fiduciary cases are often won or lost in depositions, and the local rules govern how they are scheduled. Less than 10 days’ notice of a deposition is presumed unreasonable. Before noticing an oral deposition, the lawyer must first try to work out the date, time, place and documents with the other lawyers in the case.
The rules also say that a party who files a lawsuit in Tarrant County must give a deposition in Tarrant County if asked. If the other side chose to file here, they can’t make everyone else travel to take their testimony.
Tarrant County probate courts’ local rules, Rule 2.05.
Bring the will or trust document, any accounting or letter you have received, the dates you asked for information and what you got back, and any bank, deed or closing records. Bring the date the estate was opened too, so we can tell you where you stand on the deadlines.
We handle contested matters: removal, forcing an accounting, suits to recover money or property, and the trials that follow. We don’t handle uncontested administrations. If that is all you need, a general probate firm will serve you better.
If the person handling your family’s money in a Tarrant County estate or trust won’t explain where it went, bring us your records and we will tell you whether you have a claim.
The first conversation is short and free.