Many people have assets and accounts managed by someone else, often a professional whose job is to maintain or even grow your assets and wealth. Unfortunately, some of these people do not have your best interests at heart, and you might need to sue for a breach of fiduciary duty.
A fiduciary might be someone like a corporate officer, a trustee who oversees a trust or your estate, a guardian or conservator of an incapacitated person, or an executor of an estate. You might sue for damages, including lost money, profits, or assets. Determining how much money you lost is sometimes hard and requires a thorough review of business and financial records. Other evidence might include contracts, all your communications with the fiduciary, and witnesses who might have some information about the fiduciary’s actions. Our legal team can help you find the evidence you need, assess damages, and help you fight for fair compensation.
Get an initial evaluation of your claims by calling (678) 680-6983 and talking to our attorneys for a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit at Howe & Associates.
Who You Might Sue for a Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Georgia?
The defendant in a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty is called the fiduciary. The plaintiff is a beneficiary, sometimes called the principal, a shareholder, a business partner, or someone else whose interests were harmed by the fiduciary’s actions. The harm often involves some kind of economic loss. The specific actions required under the fiduciary’s duties depend on your relationship with them and what they are doing for you in the first place.
Many fiduciaries are corporate officers in charge of operating and managing a corporation, partnership, or other business. The corporate officer should be doing everything they can to make sure the business is financially sound and healthy. In many cases, the fiduciary should be focused on growing an estate or business and increasing wealth. If the fiduciary does something that harms the trust and costs you money, they might be in breach of their duty.
A fiduciary might instead be someone appointed as a guardian or conservator of an incapacitated person. The guardian’s duty is to manage the incapacitated person’s affairs and finances so that they can continue paying for medical care and daily living expenses. If the guardian or conservator takes money or uses the incapacitated person’s assets to enrich themselves, they might be in breach of their duty.
When a person passes away, they often name an executor of their estate in their will or other end-of-life arrangements. Executors of estates are typically charged with making sure the deceased person’s assets are distributed to heirs according to the will. If the executor does not do this, they might be in breach of their fiduciary duty.
Evidence We Need to Prove a Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Georgia
The evidence we might need for your lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty includes many records and bookkeeping. If your case stems from a business arrangement, we should carefully review all records pertaining to the business. We should examine payroll records, business accounts, and records of any transactions. We might find ourselves on a paper trail that leads us to the defendant.
We also need documentation of assets and finances that were in the care of the fiduciary. This is important for establishing the fiduciary relationship between you and the defendant. Our attorneys for a breach of fiduciary duty might use a contract to show what the defendant had agreed to and how they violated the terms of the agreement.
If we believe the defendant was stealing money or otherwise enriching themselves at your cost, we should demand to see copies of records of their personal assets. If they were siphoning money into their personal account, we can demand to see records of their account, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and other transactions. We might find that a lot of money was entering their account from your business or estate.
What Our Attorneys Can Do to Help You Prove a Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Georgia
When faced with the consequences of a breach of fiduciary duty, victims often have no idea what to do next. How do you get back the money, profits, or assets that were taken from you? If your business was harmed, how do you fix it? Your first step should be to hire an experienced lawyer who can help you file a lawsuit.
First, your lawyer can help you uncover evidence. Forensic accounting is often an important component of these kinds of cases. Your lawyer may be able to connect you with accountants who can review your assets and accounts and figure out where things went wrong. They might even be able to determine who was accessing your accounts or messing with assets.
Next, your attorney can help you assess damages. This might be complicated if multiple assets and accounts have been affected. Many economic losses are hard to quantify and must be estimated. For example, we might not have a hard number or value to represent lost profits. Profits can be unpredictable, and we might need to estimate the value of lost profits based on what profits normally look like for your business.
Your lawyer can assist in determining who is to blame. When something is amiss with your finances, there may or may not be a breach of fiduciary duty. Your lawyer can help you determine if the defendant’s actions were a breach of their duty or a simple clerical or accounting error.
Some defendants work alone, but others work with others to carry out their wrongful actions. By reviewing evidence and records, we might determine that other fiduciaries are involved.
Speak to Our Georgia Attorneys for a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawsuit About Your Case
Get an initial evaluation of your claims by calling (678) 680-6983 and talking to our attorneys for a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit at Howe & Associates.