A fiduciary is required to invest the funds under his or her management and control in a prudent manner. This is a fact-specific determination based upon the length of time between assuming the position and ultimate distribution of the assets. In addition, the nature of the assets and the relative risk of investments must be considered. State laws impose specific duties on fiduciaries to prudently invest assets, and Will and Trust documents may contain specific directions regarding assets, especially closely held business interests.

A fiduciary who fails to prudently manage trust assets, by either placing property in risky investments or failing to obtain a sufficient return on investments to be held long-term, is subject to lawsuit by the damaged beneficiaries.

Our firm represented the beneficiaries in successfully challenging the prudence of the investment decisions of a Trustee in one of the most recent Kansas Appellate Court decisions addressing application of the Prudent Investor Act: Schartz vs Barker, 297 P.3d 1073 (Kan. Ct. App.20l3)