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Wills, Trusts & Estates Keyed to Sterk
Roenne v. Miller
Citation:
475 P.3d 708 (2020)Facts
Sonya Marie Miller passed away in 1995, establishing a testamentary trust to benefit her five children: Jeanette, Denise, Justin, Brad, and Mark. Brad was appointed trustee despite the trust’s explicit prohibition against beneficiaries serving in that role. The trust was funded solely by oil royalty interests and gave the trustee “uncontrolled discretion” to manage and distribute income and principal for the beneficiaries. Any unused income was to be added to the principal, and the remaining assets were to be distributed per capita to her grandchildren upon the death of all beneficiaries. The trust required the trustee to act solely in a fiduciary capacity and limited liability to cases of negligence, not errors of judgment made in good faith. However, Brad repeatedly violated his fiduciary duties, treating the trust as his personal property. He never set up a trust account, instead depositing the oil royalty income directly into his personal joint bank account with his wife. From 1996 to 2015, Brad used approximately $1.3 million from the trust for personal expenses, failing to distribute funds or consider the interests of the other beneficiaries. This clear pattern of misconduct disregarded the trust’s terms and the rights of the other beneficiaries.
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11m 20s