(Court opinion corrected 6/29/20.) Plaintiff and his siblings (Defendants) were co-trustees and co-beneficiaries of a trust established by their parents. Trust provided that upon the parents' deaths, trust assets, including 5-acre parcel of land, would be divided in equal shares among the children, but Defendants, after deaths of parents, conveyed the portion of the land containing the family home to themselves, and the portion they conveyed to Plaintiff was vacant land. Plaintiff filed complaint seeking to quiet title, requesting equitable partition, and alleging breach of fiduciary duties. Plaintiff's allegations that Defendants violated the trust and section 10 of the Trust Act by not providing him with notice that property would be conveyed out of the trust raise genuine issues of material fact. The 40-year statute of limitations in section 13-118 of Code of Civil Procedure is applicable, as Plaintiff is seeking to have the land returned to the trust. Claim for equitable distribution raises factual questions. As Defendants recorded the deeds, they did not commit fraudulent concealment that extended statute of limitations. (BIRKETT and HUTCHINSON, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Trusts