Dulling the Razor’s Edge: Understanding, Identifying and Navigating The Duty Of Impartiality

The most basic goals of any administration for a fiduciary are to distribute the right assets to the right people without getting sued. Standing between the fiduciary and these goals are numerous fiduciary duties, not the least of which is the duty of impartiality. The duty of impartiality puts a fiduciary on the razor’s edge, requiring the fiduciary to balance the competing interests of multiple beneficiaries in situations ranging from the relatively routine, like investment decisions, to the more complicated, like trust contests and disputes over the distribution of particular assets. This presentation seeks to arm fiduciaries and their legal counsel with the knowledge, strategies, and skills to identify and proactively navigate such situations.