Florida Court of Appeal Permits Assets to be Hidden in Trust

A recent decision from the Florida court of appeals exalts form over substance to a achieve an unjust decision.   Here is the case in a nutshell.  Mom set up an irrevocable trust for benefit of one of sons.  The trust contained a spendthrift provision, meaning that creditors could not reach trust assets before distribution to …

Lenders Behaving Badly

Professor Brent T. White from The University of Arizona Law School has followed up his report issued last fall regarding troubled loans.  Prof. White personally communicated with more than 350 individuals regarding their mortgage problems. His new report raises a number of troubling issues, but none more so than the dissembling tactics of lenders. Writes …

Private Trust Company – A Curious Hybrid

Attorneys Jim Weller and Alan Ytterberg published a recent article discussing an odd hybrid entity – the “private trust company.”  As the authors explain, “Similar to a regulated trust company, an unregulated trust company is an entity formed under state law for the limited purpose of providing trust services to a single family.” A private …