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Question from wanderinggardenerNov-6
Isn't it a conflict of interest if you wrote the trust for a family member, are a trustee of the trust and one of many beneficiaries named in the trust?
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Estate_Planning_Attorney Nov-7 85247.2
It depends on the type of trust and the intended purpose of the trust.  If you believe someone, as a trustee, is breaching his or her fiduciary duty, you can seek court intervention.
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knort4 Nov-8 85247.3
Not if the trustee is also a qualified trust attorney.
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Tax_Counsel Nov-8 85247.4
The person drafting the trust needs to be an attorney or he likely violates the rules against the unauthorized practice of law.

If the person is an attorney, then the legal issue is whether he violated the rules of professional conduct in that state. Under the ABA model rules and the rules that apply in most states, a lawyer may draft a will or trust for a family member without it being a prohibited conflict of interest. See Rule 1.8(c) of the ABA model rules of professional conduct, which states "A lawyer shall not solicit any substantial gift from a client, including a testamentary gift, or prepare on behalf of a client an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer any substantial gift unless the lawyer or other recipient of the gift is related to the client. For purposes of this paragraph, related persons include a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or other relative or individual with whom the lawyer or the client maintains a close, familial relationship." Of course, what matters is the law of the state in which this took place, and its rules might be different.

If the trustee breaches his fiduciary duty in managing the trust, the other interested persons can seek to remove him as trustee.
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pg1067 Nov-9 85247.5
There might be a conflict of interest under such a circumstance, but not necessarily.  Your question also sort of begs the question so what?
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pg1067 Nov-9 85247.6
"knort4's" answer is wrong.  Whether the person in question is or isn't a lawyer isn't relevant to the question posed.  Nor would the person's status as an attorney negate any conflict of interest that might exist.
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