Determining whether to get involved in a trust dispute as a trustee is a complicated matter, so you should consult with a trust lawyer regarding your individual case. If the terms of the trust instruct the trustee to get involved, the trustee may have a legal obligation to do so. If the trust does not provide any directives, unless the assets of the trust are at stake, it may not be in the trustee’s best interests to get involved.
For example, if beneficiaries are arguing among themselves about their allocated shares of the trust, it may be advisable for trustees to abstain from participating in the dispute. However, if a beneficiary is seeking to invalidate the trust as a whole, or if it comes to light that the trustor was subjected to elder abuse at the time they created or executed the trust, it may be crucial for the trustee to become involved.
