A Trust Like An Estate Cannot Litigate Without Lawyer
In the trust litigation case of Straban Township vs. Hanoverian Trust, P.I.C.S. No. 14-0567, (C.C.P. March 27, 2014 Adams County), the Honorable John D. Kuhn ruled that a trust must follow the same rules as estates and corporations when it comes to determining whether an attorney is required to initiate or fight litigation. A Trust Like An Estate Cannot Litigate Without Lawyer.
Judge Kuhn ruled that the defendant trust must retain an attorney to fight Straban Township’s lawsuit seeking an injunction to remove people from an estate the trust allegedly owns. Defendant Heywood Becker, a trustee of the Hanoverian Trust, had filed preliminary objections to the township’s complaint, but the township argued that the trust could only be represented by an attorney.
Judge Kuhn in his lengthy eleven (11) page opinion stated; “Our research has not revealed the golden nugget of stare decisis that all legal researchers seek. Nevertheless, there is a sufficient body of law which supports the township’s position.”
“A trust, like a corporation or an estate, can only act through its agent, the trustee,” Kuhn said. “Allowing a trustee to represent the trust before the court by filing pleadings and briefs and engaging in legal argument raises all the concerns regarding unauthorized practice of law raised in the above cases.”
Reference: Max Mitchell, Pennsylvania Law Weekly (April 22, 2014)
Filed Under: Trusts; Trust Litigation; Estate Litigation
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