pjc-family-2024-lib

PJC 235.20

E XPRESS T RUSTS

PJC 235.20 Release of Liability by Beneficiary If you answered [“Yes”] [“No”] [ see comment ] to Question ______, then answer the following question. Otherwise, do not answer the following ques tion. QUESTION ______ Did BENEFICIARY have full knowledge of all the material facts related to TRUSTEE ’s failure to insure the trust property when he signed the document dated DATE ? Answer “Yes” or “No.” Answer: _______________ COMMENT Wording conditioning instruction. This PJC is predicated on a finding of breach of fiduciary duty: a “Yes” answer to PJC 235.9 (breach of duty by trustee—other than self-dealing) or PJC 235.12 (breach of duty by trustee—self-dealing—duty of loyalty eliminated), or a “No” answer to PJC 235.10 (breach of duty by trustee—self dealing—duties not modified or eliminated by trust) or PJC 235.11 (breach of duty by trustee—self-dealing—duties modified but not eliminated by trust). If damages are sought based on PJC 235.9 and that question is submitted as shown in PJC 235.9 (that is, with separate answers for each duty) rather than in broad form, the conditioning instruction should be reworded accordingly. Source. The foregoing submission is based on Tex. Prop. Code §§ 114.005(a), 114.032(a). See also Slay v. Burnett Trust , 187 S.W.2d 377, 390 (Tex. 1945) (“[T]he established rule is that while a beneficiary’s consent to an act of his trustee which would constitute a violation of the duty of loyalty precludes him from holding the trustee liable for the consequences of the act, the beneficiary is not precluded from holding the trustee liable unless it is made to appear that when he gave his consent the beneficiary had full knowledge of all the material facts which the trustee knew.”). Rewording. The phrase failure to insure the trust property should be replaced with language reflecting the particular act or omission in issue. Formal requirements assumed. A release of liability by a beneficiary must be in writing and delivered to the trustee. Tex. Prop. Code § 114.005(b). The beneficiary must also have full legal capacity. Tex. Prop. Code § 114.005(a). The foregoing sub mission assumes that those requirements have been met and that the only question relates to the beneficiary’s knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the release.

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