Key Takeaways
- People may question if a trustee is a narcissist when they notice behaviors and characteristics like poor communication, self-interest, and greed overshadowing their duties as a trustee.
- You cannot remove a trustee from their position for being a suspected narcissist, but if a trustee exhibits narcissistic qualities and breaches their fiduciary duty as a result, they may be subject to removal.
- Common failures for fulfilling fiduciary responsibilities amongst narcissists include failures to maintain their duty of loyalty, failure to remain impartial, and failure to disclose important information related to the trust.
- Mediation and negotiation may be options for resolving the conflict, but it may be necessary to litigate in the event that the trustee needs to be removed or a surcharge is necessary to compensate the trust for losses.
Introduction
The trustee role is crucial for ensuring that a trust is administered responsibly and in accordance with the instructions clearly laid out by the trustor, also known as the creator of the trust. However, this significant responsibility means that a trustee who acts in bad faith can cause considerable damage to a trust and unravel a family’s expectations of an inheritance. This position of influence, unfortunately, paves the way for someone who shows signs of a narcissistic personality to take advantage, bleeding estates dry at the expense of others with a legal claim to an inheritance.
If the trustee’s behavior seems motivated by self-interest and shows little regard for their responsibilities or the well-being of others, people may question whether they exhibit signs of narcissism. This is unfortunately common, and dealing with a trustee who exhibits these qualities requires extreme sensitivity and caution, as a lack of regard for others’ emotions can lead to severe consequences for an entire family.
If a trustee is seemingly tearing apart the trust, failing to respond to communications, or showing no concern for the outcomes of others involved, they may be exhibiting signs of a narcissistic personality. Keep in mind that only a trained psychologist or psychiatrist can accurately diagnose a person with narcissistic personality disorder, so you should not attempt to diagnose a person yourself.
However, if you believe a person is exhibiting such qualities through behaviors that are harmful to your family’s trust or estate, there are a few considerations you can keep in mind to protect yourself and your family from an irresponsible trustee. You have several options available to you to hold irresponsible trustees accountable and have them removed from their position so that you can protect the trust.
Identifying the Possibly “Narcissistic” Trustee
Identifying a trustee who shows signs of narcissism comes down to recognizing a pattern of toxic behavior that puts a trust and its beneficiaries at risk. While you cannot diagnose a person with narcissism without a trained psychologist, you can recognize behaviors that are harmful to your family’s estate.
Trustees exhibiting narcissistic qualities often take on a mindset where they believe trust assets belong to them, and that they are simply in charge of passing out gifts to beneficiaries, rather than fulfilling a legal obligation to provide others with what is rightfully theirs.
This attitude can be extremely damaging to a trust and its beneficiaries. Being able to identify such behaviors early is important for being able to take action before an individual is able to take advantage of the position in a way that leads to considerable damage to a trust. It’s important that trust beneficiaries remain active participants in the trust administration process in order to have a strong understanding of how assets are being managed and can hold the trustee accountable if they begin neglecting their responsibilities.
Beneficiaries can participate in the trust administration by paying attention to trust notices received, exercising their right to request trust accountings, and asking for updates. If at any point you find that the trustee is neglecting their duties and failing to put the interests of the trust ahead of their own self-interest, you may be dealing with a trustee who is showing signs of narcissism and should consult an attorney for guidance.
Common Tactics Used by Narcissistic Trustees
Unfortunately, suspected narcissists tend to follow a similar playbook, fed by a uniform need for attention and control. When a suspected narcissist is placed into the role of a trustee, their access to resources and need to maintain control can manifest in harmful behaviors that manipulate beneficiaries and damage the interests of the estate.
Common tactics used by trustees exhibiting signs of narcissism include:
- Financial gaslighting – Trustees may manipulate numbers or trust accountings to paint a different picture of the finances and cover up mismanagement of the estate.
- Triangulation of beneficiaries – Narcissists have a tendency to pit beneficiaries against each other to maintain power, which can manifest in ways like favoring one beneficiary over another in responding to communications or punishing one for asking questions compared to another who they see as compliant.
- Delay and deflect strategy – A trustee may take seemingly subtle steps to cover up wrongdoing, such as ignoring deadlines, refusing to provide accountings, and allowing disputes to drag on in the courts to sustain their position of power and avoid acknowledging their misconduct.
If you begin recognizing any of these red flags, it’s recommended to start documenting these interactions, maintaining records of communications, and consulting an attorney for guidance on how to proceed. If these behaviors get in the way of a trustee following through on their responsibilities, it is important to have them removed as soon as possible to defend the interests of the estate.
The Intersection of Narcissism and Fiduciary Duty
It’s crucial to clarify that, in itself, suspected narcissism is not a legal reason for removing a trustee from their position, as the law will have little regard for whether a trustee is rude, but it does care if the trustee breaches their fiduciary duty. A persona with narcissistic qualities often tends to conflict with upholding one’s fiduciary duty to the trust, which is when the grounds for valid legal challenges arise.
A fiduciary duty is a trustee’s responsibility to act in the best interests of the trust. A breach of this duty occurs when an individual acts in relation to their own self-interest, rather than with respect to their commitment to uphold the interests of the trust. The self-interest that is common among suspected narcissists often leads to conflicts with this responsibility.
Key fiduciary breaches occur when a potentially narcissistic trustee takes actions that conflict with the following duties:
- Duty of Loyalty – A trustee has a duty to remain loyal to the trust by putting the interests of the trust first, but narcissists have a tendency to put themselves first, leading to behaviors like self-dealing or asset mismanagement.
- Duty of Impartiality – Trustees must treat all beneficiaries the same, regardless of personal feelings, although narcissists have a tendency to put themselves first and manipulate others through favoritism while overlooking their responsibility to others.
- Duty to Disclose – While a trustee is obligated to provide an accounting to beneficiaries so they are aware of the steps taken during trust administration, a suspected narcissist’s drive for control and secrecy often conflicts with their duty to keep others informed and results in a failure to provide reports and accountings.
How to Handle a Potentially Narcissistic Trustee Outside of Litigation
To handle a potentially narcissistic or hostile trustee, it is important to be aware of the circumstances and use this awareness to guide how you communicate and navigate interactions with caution. During this phase, you can consider mediation and direct communication with the trustee as ways to address your concerns and find an amicable path forward.
When dealing with a suspected narcissistic trustee, you should take these steps:
- Be clear and straightforward in communication – it’s often advised to be as neutral and drama-free as possible in your responses and communications. Narcissists often feed off of attention; by being brief, factual, and ultimately uninteresting in your responses, you are more likely to avoid providing the fuel that someone who shows signs of narcissism is seeking.
- Maintain consistent documentation – When dealing with a suspected narcissistic trustee, it is important to document everything, including all of your email communications and requests for information that have been either denied or unfulfilled.
- Demand formal accountings – Formal accountings are a requirement of trustees, and beneficiaries can request these accountings to ensure that the trust is being handled properly.
Even if you are not expecting to pursue litigation, you should still engage the support of a trust litigation attorney for advice on how to proceed. An attorney can provide guidance on how to be cautious in your communications, as well as provide insight into when more advanced legal action may be necessary.
When to Litigate: Removal and Surcharge
In some cases, litigation is the best path forward for protecting your family’s estate, but it may not always be the best first move. It’s crucial to know when you should pull the trigger on litigation and when alternative approaches are more appropriate.
Can You Remove a Trustee for Being a Suspected Narcissist?
You cannot remove a trustee for suspecting they are a narcissist, and you can only remove a trustee for actions they take that contradict their responsibilities to a trust. While narcissistic tendencies can lead to actions that result in trustee removal, a trustee cannot be removed for being a suspected narcissist alone. Actions that may justify trustee removal include asset theft, mismanagement of trust property, charging excess fees, ignoring the terms of the trust, and being unresponsive or uncooperative with beneficiaries.
If you suspect or observe wrongful actions that likely constitute a breach of one’s fiduciary duty, you should seek to petition the probate court to have that individual removed from their position. To remove a trustee, it’s crucial that you gather as much evidence of trustee misconduct as possible in order to prove a breach of fiduciary duty and build your case for removing the trustee to protect the interests of the trust.
In addition to being removed following proof that a trustee has breached their fiduciary duty, a trustee may also be obligated to pay a surcharge as restitution for the assets they have taken from the trust. A surcharge is a payment ordered by the court to reimburse the trust for acts of theft or wrongdoing. A trustee removal attorney can assist you in understanding your options and making a decision about the best possible next step.
The Risk to the Estate
Narcissistic trustees can pose several risks to an estate, as their position of power and influence, mixed with their lack of concern for others, could lead to the misuse of funds and misappropriation of assets. Their lack of regard for others may result in them spending estate funds at their own discretion, believing that they are entitled to spend the money because they “deserve” it.
Narcissists also have a tendency not to ask for professional help, thinking they know best through arrogance. In a complex matter like trust administration, which involves financial management, investments, and tax implications, misguided arrogance can lead to overlooked responsibilities, crucial mistakes, and significant financial losses due to a lack of expertise.
It’s crucial to take swift action against a trustee to protect the trust, its funds, and all of the beneficiaries entitled to an inheritance from it. A trustee exhibiting narcissistic qualities may have little shame in draining estate funds on lengthy legal battles, so it’s advisable to quickly seek the advice of an attorney to understand your options and avoid falling into the narcissist’s trap.
Waiting for a person exhibiting narcissistic qualities to change is often a losing battle. Instead, you should take necessary legal steps to protect the estate and its resources, whether that includes compelling the trustee to act through a court order or petitioning the court to have the trustee removed.
RMO Can Help With Narcissistic Trustees
Narcissistic trustees can pose a threat to a trust and the entire family’s interests in it. Protecting your loved one’s interests from a suspected narcissistic trustee can be a difficult and emotionally taxing battle, but if you are a beneficiary of a trust, you have a clear legal right to your share of the trust, and an attorney can help you enforce these rights.
With decades of experience in addressing all kinds of trust disputes, the trust litigation attorneys at RMO are prepared to support you. We protect people like you every day. Whether the best approach is mediation outside of the courtroom or the need to develop an argument to present before the court, we have the experience to help you decide on the best possible path forward, build a strong legal strategy, and navigate the necessary next steps.
Schedule a consultation with our attorneys to discuss your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
While suspected narcissism is not valid legal grounds for removing a trustee in court, the actions that a trustee may take as a result of their narcissism can be. For example, if a trustee steals funds from the trust because they feel entitled to do so, this is grounds for removal from their position. However, suspecting that a trustee is a narcissist alone is not enough to remove them from their role or even pursue legal action against them unless this narcissism conflicts with their duties as trustee.
No, a trustee has no right to withhold your inheritance distribution only because you have had an argument. A trustee is required to fulfill their fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate. If you are entitled to a distribution from the trust, then a trustee is legally obligated to provide you with that distribution, as specified in the trust instrument. In cases where a trustee is withholding distributions of a beneficiary’s inheritance, they may be subject to removal.
If a trustee refuses to show you bank statements, you should formally request a trust accounting in writing, as they are required to provide you with a copy of it. The trust accounting should record all financial transactions involved in the administration of the trust. You can formally request information, such as a trust accounting, by submitting a written request to the trustee. If the trustee fails to provide this information, then you can petition the probate court to compel them to do so. If a trustee continues to fail to fulfill their duties, they may be subject to removal.
Yes, the court may order the trustee to pay for your legal fees if you sue them and win by proving that they have breached their fiduciary duty. This is most likely in instances where the trustee has explicitly failed to uphold their duty, such as in cases of asset theft or self-dealing. The judge may specify that the trustee is entitled to pay any losses to the estate as a result of the injustice, as well as additional legal fees to protect the interests of the trust and its beneficiaries.
To prove that a trustee is being dishonest about the estate’s value, you can ask for a trust accounting, which a trust representative is legally obligated to provide to beneficiaries upon request. If the trustee fails to provide one, you can petition the court to compel the trustee to do so for you.
However, in cases where a trustee is being dishonest, it would not be out of the question for them to falsify these accountings. To ensure the estate account statements are correct, you can request the support of a forensic accountant to assess their accuracy. An attorney is a crucial resource for supporting you in gathering evidence for your case, and it’s advisable to seek the support of an attorney throughout the process.
A difficult trustee is someone who is fulfilling their responsibilities to the trust, but may not be quickly cooperating with others interested in the outcome of the trust, while one who is breaching their fiduciary duty is one who is failing to uphold their legal responsibility to act in the best interests of a trust. Of course, in some cases, a trustee can be both difficult and in breach of their duties, but a trustee being difficult is not always sufficient grounds to remove a trustee if they are fulfilling their responsibilities to the trust; although one who is breaching their duty is subject to being removed from their role.
A difficult trustee who is not breaching their duty may be someone who takes a long time to respond to requests for information or return calls, but is ultimately carrying out the instructions of the trust and fulfilling their fiduciary duty to uphold the best interests of the trust throughout the process. However, a trustee breaching their duty could be taking a variety of actions, including stealing trust assets, favoring one beneficiary over another, failing to uphold the terms of the trust, or being unresponsive to beneficiaries.
Glossary
Breach of Fiduciary Duty – A breach of fiduciary duty occurs when a fiduciary fails to act in the best interests of the party they represent, typically resulting in harm or loss. This breach can happen in various contexts, such as when an executor mismanages estate assets, a trustee misuses trust funds, or an agent acts contrary to a principal’s interests.
Fiduciary Duty – The legal responsibility of an individual to act in the best interests of another party while maintaining good faith and acting responsibly in legal decisions and during the management of property and financial assets.
Trust Litigation – The process of resolving disputes through the court system, often involving wills, trusts, or estate management.
Trustee – A person appointed by a trust’s creator to coordinate the administration of the trust, manage the trust’s assets and distribute the assets to the trust’s beneficiaries.