When a trustee mishandles the trust fund — making an investment they had no power to make, or simply doing their job carelessly — the beneficiaries will look to you to put it right. A personal claim for breach of trust asks the court to order the trustee to pay, out of their own pocket, whatever it takes to restore the fund. Knowing how these claims work lets you advise beneficiaries on what they can recover, and warn trustees of the exposure they face.
This lesson builds that understanding step by step:
- Nature of the Claim and Categories of Breach — what a personal claim is, how it differs from a proprietary claim, and the two broad ways a trustee can breach.
- Who is Liable — how co-trustees share liability, when passivity makes you liable, and how retirement or late appointment affects responsibility.
- Accounting Techniques: Falsification and Surcharge — the two methods courts use to quantify what the trustee must restore, and the beneficiaries' choices along the way.
- Causation and Interest — when a breach genuinely caused the loss, the arguments a trustee can raise, and when simple or compound interest applies.