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When beneficiaries disagree: Arizona's options

Disagreements among beneficiaries, or between a beneficiary and the trustee, have statutory paths in Arizona. This guide explains the nonjudicial settlement agreement, the dispute procedure an instrument may impose, the superior court's role, and the remedies and time limits that frame a dispute.

El texto completo de esta guía está en inglés; el resumen anterior está en su idioma. Los resúmenes de las leyes y el inglés siguen siendo la fuente de referencia.

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Settling by agreement

Interested persons may enter into a binding nonjudicial settlement agreement with respect to any matter involving a trust — the interpretation or construction of its terms, the approval of a trustee's report or accounting, a direction to a trustee, the resignation, appointment or compensation of a trustee, the transfer of the principal place of administration, and a trustee's liability — valid to the extent it does not violate a material purpose of the trust and includes terms the court could properly approve; any interested person may ask the court to approve it, and the court may approve or decline to approve but may not disapprove it (A.R.S. § 14-10111). A trust instrument may itself provide mandatory, exclusive and reasonable procedures to resolve issues about the administration or distribution of the trust (§ 14-10205), and a trustee may resolve a dispute by mediation or arbitration (§ 14-10816(23)).

The superior court

The court may intervene in the administration of a trust to the extent its jurisdiction is invoked by an interested person or as provided by law; a trust is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it, and a proceeding may concern any matter involving the administration, including a request for instructions and an action to declare rights (A.R.S. § 14-10201). Venue is the county of the trust's principal place of administration (§ 14-10204). The settlor, a cotrustee or a beneficiary may ask the court to remove a trustee for a material breach, a lack of cooperation among cotrustees, unfitness or persistent failure, or a substantial change of circumstances where removal best serves the beneficiaries (§ 14-10706).

Remedies, fees and the time limits

To remedy a breach of trust the court may compel the trustee to perform, enjoin a breach, compel redress, order an account, appoint a special fiduciary, suspend or remove the trustee, reduce or deny compensation, void an act or trace property, or order other relief (A.R.S. § 14-11001); the trustee is liable for the greater of the loss and the trustee's profit (§ 14-11002). A trustee's reasonable fees and costs in the good-faith defense or prosecution of a proceeding are reimbursed from the trust, and the court may order another party or the trust to pay a party's fees (§ 14-11004). A beneficiary's claim runs one year from a report that adequately disclosed it and stated the time allowed, and otherwise two years from the trustee's departure, the end of the interest or the trust's end (§ 14-11005).

Las leyes, textualmente

  • Nonjudicial settlement agreements; definition

    A.R.S. § 14-10111 ↗

    Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.

  • Removal of trustee

    A.R.S. § 14-10706 ↗

    Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.

  • Remedies for breach of trust

    A.R.S. § 14-11001 ↗

    Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.

  • Limitation of action against trustee

    A.R.S. § 14-11005 ↗

    Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.

Preguntas frecuentes

Can Arizona beneficiaries settle a trust dispute without court?

Yes; interested persons may enter into a binding nonjudicial settlement agreement on any matter involving the trust, within the limits the statute states, and may ask the court to approve it (A.R.S. § 14-10111).

How is an Arizona trustee removed?

On the request of the settlor, a cotrustee or a beneficiary, or on the court's own initiative, for the grounds A.R.S. § 14-10706 lists — a material breach, a lack of cooperation among cotrustees, unfitness or persistent failure, or a substantial change of circumstances where removal best serves the beneficiaries.

How long does a beneficiary have to sue an Arizona trustee?

One year after being sent a report that adequately disclosed the potential claim and stated the time allowed; otherwise two years after the first of the trustee's removal, resignation or death, the end of the beneficiary's interest and the trust's termination (A.R.S. § 14-11005).

El Centro de Aprendizaje es información general sobre la ley de Arizona — no es asesoría legal ni sustituye el consejo de un abogado de Arizona con licencia sobre sus hechos específicos. TrusteeClear es software, no un bufete.