Can a trust be sued for personal injury?
Personal Injury - July 2, 2025
When individuals lose their financial stability due to mismanaged or embezzled trust funds, can the trust be sued for personal injury? Those who ignore their fiduciary responsibility to the trust’s beneficiaries can be held accountable for causing harm to others. With help from an Aurora personal injury lawyer, you can seek justice for careless or intentional trustees or trust administrators.
What is a trust, and who manages it?
A trust is a common component of estate planning and wealth management strategies that creates a separate legal entity to control all or part of an individual’s assets. Asset protection trusts are designed to protect their holdings from creditor lawsuits and unnecessary taxation while allowing the beneficiaries to receive their shares after the individual’s death.
The grantor creates the trust, the trustee manages the trust and the trust assets, and the beneficiaries receive funds from the trust. The trustee must act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and follow all applicable laws. There are two primary types of trusts: irrevocable trusts and revocable living trusts.
Irrevocable trusts become active upon the grantor’s death and cannot be changed once they are established. A revocable living trust allows the grantor to add, remove, and benefit from the trust’s assets during their lifetime. The grantor can also dissolve the trust, if desired.
What does a trustee do for a trust?
The trustee owes a fiduciary duty to the trust and must avoid any conflict of interest that could endanger their ability to legally administer the trust property. They are responsible for educating themselves about their duties and collaborating with professionals in accounting, legal, and other fields to properly avoid undue influence or lack thereof. If the trustee fails to do so, they can be held personally liable for any losses the beneficiaries suffer.
How do I sue a trust for personal injury?
Although personal injury usually means bodily harm, lawsuits involving trusts often seek financial compensation for harm caused by trustee misconduct. Depending on the circumstances, you may sue a trust for personal injury, or you may sue the trustee.
Typically, a lawsuit against a trust is initiated by an outside third party, while a suit against the trustee is brought by one or more of the trust’s beneficiaries. Trust litigation usually involves bringing legal action for financial harm.
The most common type of lawsuit is against the trustee for breach of fiduciary duty to protect the trust’s assets and act in the best interests of the beneficiaries. These cases are complicated and often involve coordination with estate planning attorneys who can advise your lawyer about the trustee’s duties and expectations. Your legal team may also work with financial and tax experts to determine the extent of the damage so you can calculate appropriate compensation demands.
Your lawyer will begin by investigating the details of your injury and determining exactly how the trust or trustee is to blame. They will prepare case paperwork and file court documents to establish the claim. The next step is usually negotiation to reach a satisfactory settlement, but if the other side does not provide a fair offer, your lawyer may recommend you move to trial.
Discuss your personal injury claim against a trust today with experienced attorneys
It can be difficult to determine exactly who is at fault when you have suffered financial losses from a trust. To guard against making uniformed or costly mistakes, arrange a free consultation with an Aurora personal injury lawyer at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates. We can answer your questions and help you gain the confidence to move forward with your case when you message us online or call (800) 985-1819 today.
