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S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 | C e l e b r a t i n g 2 5 y e a r s w i t h t h e w o r l d ' s f i n e s t l a w f i r m s
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trust. Subsection (c) clarifies that "[t]his
section does not preclude other methods
of obtaining jurisdiction over a trustee, a
beneficiary, or any other person receiving
property from the trust," Uniform Trust
Code Article 2-202(c), meaning a state's
applicable long-arm statute may afford
personal jurisdiction over a trustee where
minimum contacts exist with that state.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(k)(1)(A) provides
that a federal district court may assert
personal jurisdiction over a defendant
who would be subject to jurisdiction in
state court in the state where the district
court is located. See Lydia Schweer
Family Trust ex rel. Fuqua v. Dingler
,
2010 WL 55599 (M.D. Fla. 2010)
(Personal jurisdiction over out-of-state
life insurance company held proper
in lawsuit by trustee on behalf of trust
originally settled in Georgia where life
insurance's ongoing communications
with trustee, which provided the basis
of the tort action, occurred while trustee
was living in Florida.) See also Navarro
Savings Ass'n v. Lee
, 446 U.S. 458, 464,
100 S.Ct. 1779, 64 L.Ed.2d 425 (1980)
(As the trustee is the real party to the
controversy, it is the trustee's citizenship,
not the citizenship of the beneficiaries,
that will determine whether diversity
jurisdiction exists.)
While litigation involving a trust
may involve complex issues, an attorney
taking time to consider the fundamentals
of civil procedure in that context serves
his or her clients' best interests.
1 Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, District of Columbia,
Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming.