[Italics added.] A trust is a fiduciary relationship with respect to property in which the person holding legal title to the property the trustee has an equitable obligation to — — manage the property the beneficiary. [Citations.] A trustee for the benefit of another — must always act in the (§ 16002, subd. (a); [citation].) If solely beneficiaries’ interest. the trustee violates duty owed to the beneficiaries, the trustee is liable for breach of any trust. (§ 16400.) . . . In a trust relationship, then, the benefits belong to the beneficiaries and the burdens to the trustee. The office of trustee is thus by nature an onerous one, and the proper discharge of its duties necessitates great circumspection. Liability to beneficiaries for mismanagement of trust assets is merely one of the burdens professional trustees take on for, presumably, an (Moeller, 16 Cal.4th at supra, — appropriate fee.” pp. 1133-1134.) Thus, because it is clear on this record the probate court failed to consistently and appropriately apply the legal standards prescribed by the California Supreme Court in and an abuse of discretion has occurred. (Costco, 47 Cal.4th at Moeller Costco, supra, p. 733 abuse of discretion is shown when the trial court applies the wrong legal [“An Moreover, we agree with FTI and Alexander that the supplemental privilege standard”].) log, as it stands, provides insufficient details regarding the underlying documents to permit us to conclude on this record that appellants made the requisite preliminary factual showing to support their privilege claims with respect to the Privilege-Upheld Documents. Thus, insofar as the challenged order upheld the privilege with respect to those documents, the order must be reversed and the matter remanded for reconsideration under the correct standard. Because the limited description provided with respect to the Privilege-Denied Documents was sufficient to confirm that these documents were exchanged in connection with trust administration and not with the trustees in their personal capacities (see footnote 5, the challenged order is affirmed with respect to ante), those documents.
[Italics added.] A trust is a fiduciary relationship with respect to property in which the person holding legal title to the property — the trustee — has an equitable obligation to manage the property for the benefit of another — the beneficiary. [Citations.] A trustee must always act solely in the beneficiaries’ interest. (§ 16002, subd. (a); [citation].) If the trustee violates any duty owed to the beneficiaries, the trustee is liable for breach of trust. (§ 16400.) . . . In a trust relationship, then, the benefits belong to the beneficiaries and the burdens to the trustee. The office of trustee is thus by nature an onerous one, and the proper discharge of its duties necessitates great circumspection. Liability to beneficiaries for mismanagement of trust assets is merely one of the burdens professional trustees take on — for, presumably, an appropriate fee.” (Moeller, supra, 16 Cal.4th at pp. 1133-1134.) Thus, because it is clear on this record the probate court failed to consistently and appropriately apply the legal standards prescribed by the California Supreme Court in Moeller and Costco, an abuse of discretion has occurred. (Costco, supra, 47 Cal.4th at p. 733 [“An abuse of discretion is shown when the trial court applies the wrong legal standard”].) Moreover, we agree with FTI and Alexander that the supplemental privilege log, as it stands, provides insufficient details regarding the underlying documents to permit us to conclude on this record that appellants made the requisite preliminary factual showing to support their privilege claims with respect to the Privilege-Upheld Documents. Thus, insofar as the challenged order upheld the privilege with respect to those documents, the order must be reversed and the matter remanded for reconsideration under the correct standard. Because the limited description provided with respect to the Privilege-Denied Documents was sufficient to confirm that these documents were exchanged in connection with trust administration and not with the trustees in their personal capacities (see footnote 5, ante), the challenged order is affirmed with respect to those documents.
A144558.DOCX