The American Rule provides that each party to a litigation generally remains responsible for his own legal expenses regardless of who prevails. In Matter of Lasdon, Surrogate Glen of New York County explained the few and narrow exceptions to that Rule, one of which pertains to cases of fiduciary misconduct. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the decision in our latest entry.
Continue Reading Exception to the American Rule: Shifting Objectants’ Legal Fees to the Surcharged Fiduciary

Legal fees incurred by fiduciaries in connection wtih their stewardship are generally chargeable to a trust or estate as a whole. This week’s blog entry discusses a recent case in which non-objecting beneficiaries sought to allocate trustees’ litigation costs solely to the objecting parties’ interests.
Continue Reading Beneficiary Participation Irrelevant to Allocation of Trustees’ Litigation Costs