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Tag: Breach of Fiduciary Duty

The Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee

Posted on Fri May 24, 2019, on Trusts

Estate Lawyer in Allentown, PA: Let’s Talk about The Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee. If you are named as either a trustee or successor trustee for someone’s trust, you may be wondering what your duties are. Understanding The Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee is crucial. A trust lawyer […]

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How Do I Prove A Breach Of Fiduciary Duty?

Posted on Sun Sep 11, 2016, on Estate Litigation

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “My mother died in Montgomery County, PA, and set up a trust for me in her will. The Trust pays out now that I am 40. I recently found out the trustee failed to pay the Trust’s income taxes for ten years. How do I prove that he committed a breach of fiduciary duty? Can I make him pay the interest and penalty?”

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Power-of-Attorney-Abuse

Power of Attorney Abuse

Posted on Wed Sep 7, 2016, on Power of Attorney

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I have heard stories about Power of Attorney abuse and theft. So, where do I keep my Power of Attorney?”

Power of Attorney abuse is a real problem. A typical durable general power of attorney gives your “Agent” the authority to access your accounts and sell your assets. These capabilities are essential so your Agent can take care of you. But, they are also powers that can lead to theft and fraud.

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Philadelphia Power of Attorney Formal Accounting – Agent Wrongdoing

Posted on Sat Oct 31, 2015, on Formal Accounting

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother has Alzheimer’s, and my uncle has been handling her money for several years as her power of attorney. My sister and I are not given any information about how he is handling her money. Recently, he took his family on a long cruise that I know he could never afford on his own money. My sister and I feel he must have used our mother’s money to pay for his vacation. What can we do?

Your mother’s Power of Attorney names your uncle as her “Agent.” As Agent, he has a fiduciary duty to use those powers to care for your mother. In Pennsylvania, the Agent is given broad powers and very little oversight, but an interested person being able to easily get a court order for the Agent to account for every penny counter balances this flexibility.

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If the executor is untrustworthy, how do I protect myself?

Posted on Fri Oct 23, 2015, on Estate Litigation

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother died a resident of Bucks County and named her sister as her executor. I am the beneficiary of the entire estate. My aunt filed the will last month, but has changed the locks on the house and refuses to answer my calls. She has a history of alcohol abuse and I am worried that she is spending the estate money on herself. Is there any way that I could freeze the accounts and protect my inheritance?

Pennsylvania executors are given a great deal of power to act on their own, without court supervision, and are not obligated to share much information with you on demand. This works well when the executor is honest, as the estate can be managed less expensively.

Klenk Law

Breach of Fiduciary Duty by Philadelphia Executor

Posted on Thu Sep 10, 2015, on Estate Litigation

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: The will says that all funds are to be equally divided between the siblings. The executor is dividing things unevenly. We had an agreement how things were to be divided. What can I do if the Executor is not holding up her end of the will?

I believe what you are describing is an estate that has been opened with the Philadelphia Register of Wills and Letters Testamentary issued to one person, the Executor. The Will says that the estate is to be divided up equally between the deceased person’s children but, the Executor has decided on her own to divide up and distribute the estate’s assets unequally.

Klenk Law

Executor Wrongdoing in Camden County, New Jersey – Steps Needed

Posted on Wed Jul 29, 2015, on Estate Litigation

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: For years, my parents lent money to my cousin and his wife to pay their children’s education. To my surprise, at their deaths, my cousin’s wife was named executor. She “hired” my cousin who is a CPA to handle the estate’s books. Over a year has passed and they refuse to give me any information about the estate and are calling the loans to them, “gifts”. What can I do?

I take it that you are the residuary beneficiary of the will? If so, you have the right to demand through a formal accounting to know where every penny went and a justification for every expense. You also have a right to investigate whether all those years of funding education and other money transfers were gifts or loans.

Klenk Law

Executor Bad Acts – Request a Schedule of Distribution

Posted on Fri Jul 24, 2015, on Probate and Estate Administration

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My stepfather died about a year ago and left me a very nice truck in his will. The executor stopped taking my calls about when I would get the truck. I just found out he used the truck to haul his boat on a recent fishing vacation. How do I get the executor to give me my inheritance?

Just when I think I’ve heard it all about bad executors, you give me a story of an executor who drives estate assets on his own fishing trip.

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What Our clients are saying

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Maureen O'Ryan

Peter Klenk was great at explaining complicated issues and making them understandable. He and his team were extremely efficient and I highly recommend them for the creation of wills and trusts.

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Dustin Ward

Jackie was fantastic! She helped prepare our will, her professionalism and organization was top notch! We highly recommend Jackie and Klenk Law.

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CEGM

Peters' firm has prepared and updated our Wills and Trusts for the last 15 to 20 years. They know the law and help with your decision making to use the law to your best advantage. Response time to your requests is very reasonable, and final reviews and signing is executed in a timely manor with a thorough coverage of the documents. Our most recent updates to our Wills & Trusts were somewhat complicated, in our opinion, but Peter and his staff handled them effortlessly. As you can tell from this review Peter Klenk's firm is top notch.

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Lu Han

I have worked with three different attorneys and law firms over the years, and I can confidently say that attorney Peter Klenk stands out as the most knowledgeable. He created the most thorough wills and trust documents I've ever had. Mr. Klenk took the time to gather all the necessary details about my current situation and goals. As a result, he put together comprehensive documents that I believe will effectively protect my assets and ensure my children's inheritance is secure.
What truly sets Mr. Klenk apart is his patience and dedication to understanding my questions. He provided detailed explanations that made complex legal concepts much easier to grasp. His team's communication and scheduling were equally impressive, making the entire process smooth and stress-free.
Thank you, Mr. Klenk, and your fantastic team, for your exceptional service!

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Wendy Charlap

We came to this firm based because of the online reviews we read and were not disappointed. Peter and the staff were a pleasure to work with - Peter was friendly, knowledgeable and patient with all our questions and the office staff were extremely responsive and efficient with all the scheduling and follow up needed to get us ready for the signing. We also like that all documents are housed in a portal that is easily accessible. Thank you to Peter and the team for helping us cross 'update estate planning documents' off our list.

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