Beneficiaries of a large trust are unable to move the trust to a different trust company because the agreement they signed with the current trustee requires all 94 beneficiaries to consent to the change of trustee. The beneficiaries are displeased because the bank has had poor investment returns. The beneficiaries have sued the bank.
Several lessons can be learned:
1. Trust documents should allow for the removal of a trustee by a majority of the beneficiaries.
2. If the trust allows for separate shares for each beneficiary, that beneficiary should be permitted to select his own corporate trustee.
3. In Ohio, poor investment performance is not grounds for removing a trustee in a lawsuit which makes lessons 1 and 2 more important.
