In general, a fiduciary is a person who owes you a duty of loyalty. That means that the fiduciary has to put your interests ahead of his own personal gains. The meaning of fiduciary comes from latin:
Origin
Your Spouse as a Fiduciary:
When you marry someone, the law makes you a fiduciary to them. This means that you are entrusted with financially taking care of them over your own interests. Not only are you expected to be loyal personally, but there are grave consequences for a spouse who steals from another spouse. Family courts do not look kindly to a spouse who hides assets from the other spouse and sanctions are common when a breach occurs in the context of marriage.
Your Lawyer as a Fiduciary:
Your lawyer is expected to be loyal to you. Rules of Professional Conduct set forth a wide variety of ways to avoid conflicts of interest. Also, a lawyer is to maintain a trust account to which he or she must deposit client funds. Rules of confidentiality also add to the fiduciary duties of the attorney. In Probate, lawyers are generally prohibited from buying assets of the estates they administer. In general, avoiding conflict is a great theme in the attorney-client relationship.
A Professional Fiduciary as a Trustee:
A Private Professional Fiduciary like a trustee or conservator also owes a fiduciary duty to the beneficiary or conservatee of the case which they are handling. There are many rules for trustees to follow, but some of the more basic ones include not taking profit from the estate, and not commingling assets of the trust or estate with their own assets.
Breach of a fiduciary duty results in damages and the courts are ready to award compensatory damages as well as punitive damages where the breach of fiduciary duties has resulted in grave consequences. Call us to discuss your particular situation.
Contact attorney Mina Sirkin, to discuss Breach of Fiduciary actions in Los Angeles. 818-340-4479 or email: Info@SirkinLaw.com
