Court Opinion

ID: 9689500
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:37:01.943603+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:49.439655
License: Public Domain

NANCY STEFFEN RAHMEYER, Judge,
concurring.
I reluctantly concur that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on Appellant’s claim that the Trust Protector breached his fiduciary duty as set out in the contract; however, I write separately to emphasize the limited holding. I agree that there is no duty as a matter of law as a “trust protector,” but I do not agree that as a matter of law the duty of the Trust Protector was to the beneficiary, at least not in the traditional sense, nor do I equate the right to remove trustees and appoint successors with a duty to remove trustees and appoint successor trustees. Furthermore, Appellant’s allegation that the Trust Protector was informed that the trustees were inappropriately spending trust funds is not the same as an allegation that the Trust Protector was acting in bad faith.
I am simply persuaded that, based on the record before the trial court, the trial court did not have a sufficient basis to determine that the contract did not impose any fiduciary duty on the Trust Protector. As noted by the majority opinion, whether there was a duty to monitor or supervise the trustees only comes about in this case by reason of the contract. I do not believe it is appropriate for this Court to make up the duties of a trust protector out of whole cloth. Only by liberally construing the petition, as we must, do I find the inference that a failure to monitor the trustees was an act of bad faith. Because of the procedural posture of this case, the record is absolutely void of any indication whatsoever what the contract meant by the appointment of a trust protector in this very specific type of trust, a special needs trust. The contract was prepared by a law firm; whatever the reason to add a trust protector to this trust has not been flushed out in the summary judgment motions. When these issues are fleshed out by a more complete record, a determination can be made whether this trustee has any claim against the Trust Protector. For that reason, I concur in the holding that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the claim of a breach of fiduciary duty.