In Gill v. Grewal, the suit arose out of a failed business venture between old college friends. No. 4:14-CV-2502, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104461 (S. D. Tex. June 15, 2020). Gill and Grewal attended college together in the late 1960s. After falling out of touch with each other for over thirty years, the two reconnected at a wedding. The day after the wedding, Grewal pitched Gill an entrepreneurial venture related to the healthcare industry. The parties then formed Healthema. After a dispute arose, Grewal sued his former friend for breaching fiduciary duties arising from the formation and operation of the business. Gill filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that he did not owe any fiduciary duties to Grewal. The district court granted the summary judgment motion on this issue.
Continue Reading Old College Friends Do Not Generally Owe Fiduciary Duties To Each Other
Author David Johnson Named to TBLS Board of Directors
Author David F. Johnson has been named to the board of directors for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS). David will serve a three-year term beginning in July of 2020. The TBLS board is composed of twelve members appointed by the President of the State Bar of Texas, with the approval of its Board
Administering A Trust In A Recession: Securing Loans For Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries often request that a trustee secure a loan from a third party. In an economic downturn, such requests are even more prevalent. As a general rule, a trustee should not want to do so as it should assume that the beneficiary will default and the trustee will then be placed in a situation of
David Fowler Johnson Again Receives JD Supra’s Readers’ Choice Award for Texas Fiduciary Litigator Blog
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, was selected to receive the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Award in Wealth Management. The annual award recognizes top authors and firms who were read by C-suite executives, in-house counsel, media, and other professionals across the JD Supra platform during 2019.
JD Supra’s
Presentation: Joint Account Litigation in Texas
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, presented his paper on “Joint Account Litigation in Texas” to the Texas Bankers Association via a webinar on April 29, 2020. This presentation addresses the creation, ownership, and disputes that arise from joint accounts. It also addresses who owns money in an
Recorded Webinar—Administering a Trust In a Recession: Issues Surrounding Trust Loans to Beneficiaries
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, discusses the topic of beneficiaries requesting loans from trustees. There are multiple issues that arise regarding the trustee’s authority to do so under the trust’s language and statutory and common law, and the loan’s impact on
Notary Services In A World of Social Distancing: Texas Temporarily Allows For Videoconference Notarization In Addition To Online Notary Services
On April 9, 2020, the governor suspended certain statutes concerning appearance before a notary public to execute a self-proved will, a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a directive to physician, or an oath of an executor, administrator, or guardian. These suspensions temporarily allow for appearance before a notary public via videoconference when executing such documents, avoiding the need for in-person contact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following conditions will apply whenever this suspension is invoked:
A notary public shall verify the identity of a person signing a document at the time the signature is taken by using two-way video and audio conference technology.
A notary public may verify identity by personal knowledge of the signing person, or by analysis based on the signing person’s remote presentation of a government-issued identification credential, including a passport or driver’s license, that contains the signature and a photograph of the person.
The signing person shall transmit by fax or electronic means a legible copy of the signed document to the notary public, who may notarize the transmitted copy and then transmit the notarized copy back to the signing person by fax or electronic means, at which point the notarization is valid.
Webinar: Administering a Trust In a Recession–Issues Surrounding Trust Loans to Beneficiaries (April 21)
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, will address beneficiaries requesting loans from trustees. There are multiple issues that arise regarding the trustee’s authority to do so under the trust’s language and statutory and common law, and the loan’s impact on duties
Notary Services In A World of Social Distancing: Online Notarization
Fiduciary relationships often require a party to notarize a document. For example, a party may need to or want to use notary services for each of the following: a person may execute new trust or estate documents, a beneficiary may execute an agreement or release with a fiduciary, a successor trustee or estate representative may
Administering Trusts In A Recession: The Support Trust/HEMS Distribution Standard
When the economy has a downturn, trustees are under more pressure to make distributions. Beneficiaries lose jobs, their individual asset portfolios decrease, and they may make the decision to go back to school. Moreover, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, health care expenses may increase. Due to these factors, trustees are under more pressure to make