Private Fiduciary Trust Expert Witness

CURRICULUM VITAE

9/2008 to present
Professional Fiduciary, Expert Witness, Trust Consultant, Coeur d’Alene, ID

• Serve as a Court-appointed Trustee and as Personal Representative for trusts and estates. Provide estate planning consulting to clients of local financial advisors. Provide trust consulting services for trustees and beneficiaries. Available as an Expert Witness in estate and trust litigation.

8/2009 to 7/2010
The Grupp Law Firm, PLLC, Coeur d’Alene, ID

• Provided trust administration and estate plan design consulting for the firm’s high value clientele on a limited basis.

4/2001 to 8/2008
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Coeur d’Alene, ID V.P.,
Trust & Financial Advisor, Relationship Manager

• Developed new trust and investment management business in the Inland Northwest region. Focused specifically on applying asset allocation principles to large and multiple managed investment portfolios. Designed estate plans for wealth management clients, partnering with private bankers and financial consultants. Administered portfolio of trust and investment management accounts > $100MM.

3/2000 to 2/2001,
Bradford Trust Company (sub of PaineWebber), Nashville, TN
Trust Admin Group A Leader

• Consolidated trust accounts resulting from PaineWebber acquisition of JC Bradford, serving as an administrative Team Leader. Administered >300 accounts exceeding $300 million in assets.
• Taught internal classes on trust principal/income accounting and fiduciary income tax.

1/1998 to 2/2000
Independence Trust Company, Franklin, TN

Vice President

• Supervised trust operations during period when company grew from $30 million to $230 million in assets, including the development of process controls for funds management, securities transaction settlement, and client account reconciliation. Created and administered 2 pooled investment funds with $36 million invested. Rebalanced equity and fixed income investment portfolios totaling $95+ million monthly. Administered trust accounts in a 7 state region, including acquisition and exercise of foreign trust powers in 6 states. Served as acting Chair of Trust Administrative Committee. Supervised the acquisition of trust assets from two financial institutions.

5/1995 to 10/1997
American Factors of Nashville, Inc., Brentwood, TN

President

• Launched commercial finance firm, placing > $2 million in private debt capital in accounts receivable financing.

12/1983 to 5/1995
Gardere & Wynne, LLP, Dallas, TX

Trust Administrator

• Started trust administration service for the firm, administering assets which included securities, commercial real estate, agricultural properties, tangible personal assets, and limited partnership interests. Designed complex estate plans for high net worth individuals, including charitable trusts, family limited partnerships, split-dollar insurance plans, and plans involving closely held operating businesses. Developed estate tax and fiduciary income tax return preparation capabilities. Developed expertise in federal estate tax, fiduciary income tax, and trust principal/income accounting.

Education
Texas School of Trust Banking, Dallas, Texas, Certificate of Completion, 1988
Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas, B.A., Political Science and History, 1987

Associations
Coeur d’Alene Estate Planning Council, President 2014-2015
North Idaho College Foundation, Board of Directors and Chair of the Planned Giving Committee

Certifications and Licenses
Certified Trust & Financial Advisor, currently inactive
Securities Series 7 and 66, currently inactive
Idaho Life, Health, and Disability Insurance Producer, currently inactive

Publications
Available upon request
Expert Witness Case History

• For Plaintiff beneficiary, Idaho. Issues addressed included application of Uniform Prudent Investor Act to timber assets, trustee’s duties under the Uniform Principal and Income Act,a trustee’s standard of care with regard to real estate assets, and damages calculation. Expert report filed with the Court is available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Federal Court, Maryland. Issues addressed included fiduciary conflicts of interest and self-dealing, trustee’s duties of loyalty, and bank trust department policy and procedures. Expert reports filed with the Court are available upon request. Deposition transcript available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Idaho. Issues addressed included general fiduciary duties of a personal representative, fiduciary duties of a personal representative to beneficiary of resulting trust, and propriety of personal representative fees. Expert report and court testimony transcript available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Florida. Issues addressed included fiduciary standard of care for investments under the applicable Prudent Investor Rule in the context of a Ponzi scheme. Redacted mediation support memorandum available upon request.
• For Defendant bank. Illinois. Issues addressed included fiduciary duties of investment manager, trustee’s management of trust cash resources, reasonable trustee compensation, and the fiduciary duties of co-trustees.  Expert report available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Idaho. Issues addressed included fiduciary duties of Personal Representative with regard to real estate valuation and sale, and duties to disclose material information to heirs of the Estate. Transcript of trial testimony available upon request.
•  For Plaintiff client. Colorado. Issues included fiduciary duties of financial advisor with regard to conflicts of interest, self-dealing, duty of loyalty, and standards of care.
• For Defendant individual trustee. Idaho. Issues included trust accounting, trustee’s due diligence for real estate sale transactions, trustee’s management of income-producing real estate, and trustee’s delegation of certain administrative functions. Redacted mediation support letter available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. California. Issues included trust accounting, application of the prudent investment rule, trustee’s duty of loyalty and standard of care, trustee’s conflicts of interest and potential self-dealing, and trustee’s management of trust assets within family pass-through entities.  Declaration available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Confidentiality Order in place for this matter.
• For Defendant bank trustee. Montana. Issues included bank co-trustee’s administration of beneficiary occupied and managed ranch. Expert opinion report available upon request.
• For Plaintiff beneficiary. Illinois. Issues included directed bank trustee’s responsibility for timely estimated tax payment after sale of closely held business. Redacted memorandum available upon request.
• For Defendant Fiduciary Investment Advisor (pending). Tennessee. Issues include representations of probate costs, reasonableness of naming investment advisor in trust document, trustee removal language, reasonableness of estate settlement costs, calculation of required minimum distributions for inherited IRA, and reasonableness investment management fees for trust assets.
• For Plaintiff trust beneficiary. Idaho arbitration proceeding. Issues included the trustee’s fiduciary duty to comply with a prior litigation settlement agreement, payment of attorney fees and costs, fiduciary conflicts of interest, and the duty to inform and report. Expert opinion report and deposition transcript available upon request.
• For Plaintiff trust beneficiaries. Montana. Issues include trustee compensation, trustee’s duty to inform and report, prudent investment regarding promissory notes, trustee conflicts of interest and self-dealing. Expert opinion report available upon request.
• For Personal Representative of deceased Defendant trustee. Montana. This expert report for this case is pending, so is currently unavailable.

Other Litigation-related Matters

• Iowa District Court. As the bank trust officer, supervised litigation resulting in favorable judgment, including attorney fees award. Issues addressed included trust accounting and tax reporting for distributions from conduit entities (LLC, partnership, Sub S corp.), and trustee’s exercise of discretion in allocating receipts and disbursements to income and principal.
• Idaho District Court. Judicial appointment as Personal Representative during probate litigation. Liquidated and distributed Estate pursuant to mediated settlement.
• Idaho District Court. Judicial appointment as Trustee for a medical trust resulting from a minor’s compromise in a personal injury case.
• Idaho District Court. Judicial appointment as Special Administrator tasked with preparing an Inventory and identifying for the Court relevant legal issues standing in the way of settling the Estate.  Report to the Court available upon request.
• Idaho District Court. Judicial appointment as Interim Trustee to administer trust of deceased commercial real estate developer until litigation and tax issues are resolved. Resolution of litigation was ruling of material breach of trust against prior trustee, award of all requested damages, and award of attorney’s fees and costs.  Copy of damage award calculation available.
• Idaho District Court. Appointment as Successor Trustee of testamentary trust as the result of litigation settlement of probate matter.