Executors, trustees, corporate officers and directors, partners, employees and attorneys, among others, may have a fiduciary obligation to those they serve. This is a higher standard than in ordinary business dealings.

The litigation attorneys at Cox Smith who specialize in this area counsel help clients navigate the specialized rules, laws, complex relationships and specialized courts in this area of practice.

We know our way around the courthouse. We have lawyers who are members of prestigious associations of trial lawyers and who are board certified in civil trial law. Trials are expensive, however, and can permanently damage family, business or donor relationships. Cox Smith estate litigation attorneys are sensitive to these issues and look for practical business solutions that reduce litigation costs and maximize the value of the estate to the beneficiaries.

Estates
We represent executors and high net worth individuals and their families in probate and other specialized courts all over Texas. We represent clients in will contests, guardianships, actions for accounting, partition suits, fraud against the elderly, suits to construe or set aside a will and claims involving investment decisions. We use our specialized knowledge to help clients navigate through the specialized procedures and complex relationships involved in estates.

Trusts
We are familiar with the many types of trusts, whether revocable or irrevocable, intervivos or testamentary, tax-related, court-created or business or real estate trust. We work to protect clients’ interests in the trusts and to protect trust assets. We represent trustees and beneficiaries in disputes involving suits for the construction or modification of a trust, actions for an accounting, modifications to achieve tax objectives, changes from a trust to a corporate form of governance or removing or appointing a new trustee. We defend trustees against claims of breach of fiduciary duty and represent beneficiaries in suits to enforce their rights under trust agreements.

Business Entities and Professionals
A fiduciary duty may be owed in a number of business contexts, as well as in trust and estates. Officers, directors, partners, joint venturers, attorneys-in-fact, real estate agents, stock brokers, escrow agents, officers and directors of a corporation, ERISA fiduciaries, executives to non-executive interest holders in mineral deeds, agents, employees, lawyers and contractors who hold construction payments may have some kind of fiduciary duty when acting on behalf of another. We work to understand the client’s business. We counsel clients on the nature of the fiduciary duty, work with them to reduce the likelihood of a claim and vigorously defend them if one arises.

Non-Profit Organizations
We assist non-profits in protecting their interests in gifts, estates or trusts; whether seeking court interpretation of an instrument, applying the “cy pres” doctrine to determine who receives a bequest, modifying a trust to accommodate changed circumstances, changing the corporate structure of an entity or appointing a new fiduciary. In addition, there may be times when charities must be defended. We counsel non-profits on the nature of their duties and the special defenses they may have. We also defend non-profits in claims involving the operation of the entity, including breach of fiduciary duty or good faith, negligence and fraud.