What You Can Do About Trustees Behaving Badly: Strategies for Identifying, Challenging, and Remedying Fiduciary Misconduct

Michael A. Hackard | Hackard Law Corporation

Michael A. Hackard is the founder of Hackard Law Corporation, a Sacramento-based firm renowned for its focus on estate, trust, and financial elder abuse litigation. With over 40 years of courtroom experience, Michael is recognized as one of California’s foremost au thorities on trust disputes, fiduciary litigation, and elder financial abuse.

A frequent commentator and trusted resource for national media, Michael has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, AARP, ThinkAdvisor, Fox News, C-SPAN, and other leading publications. He is regularly sought out for his insights on complex estate and trust matters, and his commentary has helped shape public understanding of fiduciary responsibility and elder protection.

Michael’s practice centers on high-stakes, contingency fee estate and trust litigation, representing clients throughout Northern and Southern California, including the Bay Area and Los Angeles and Orange Counties. His expertise includes trust and estate litigation, will contests and trust challenges, elder financial abuse claims, trustee removal proceedings, fiduciary duty breaches, and traumatic brain injury litigation.

He has testified before the United States House Ways & Means Committee and the FDA, and brings unique empathy to his advocacy as a brain tumor survivor.

Michael is the author of four books on elder financial abuse and estate litigation, including “The Wolf at the Door: Undue Influence and Elder Financial Abuse” (2017), “Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes” (2019), and “Inheritance Heists” (2025).

Drawing on decades of trial experience and national media recognition, Michael will share practical strategies for identifying, confronting, and remedying trustee misconduct—empowering attorneys to protect their clients and uphold the highest standards of trust administration.

Brian Geremia | Hackard Law Corporation

Brian Geremia is a senior attorney at Hackard Law, where he has practiced since 2017. His expertise centers on trust, estate, and elder financial abuse litigation, including will and trust contests, trustee breach of fiduciary duty claims, accountings, deed cancellations, and related matters.

A three-time Super Lawyers Rising Star honoree, Brian has also earned the Client Platinum Champion award from Martindale, recognizing his exceptional client service as evidenced by over thirty 5-star client reviews.

Brian brings a strong academic foundation to his practice, graduating with distinction from Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 2015, where he served as a staff writer and Chief Online Editor for the McGeorge Law Review. During his legal education, he gained valuable practical experience as a student-attorney for three semesters in the Elder & Health Law Clinic. Brian continues his connection with his alma mater as an alumni mentor for first-year students and as a panel member for the Elder Law & Social Policy course, sharing insights on estate planning and trust litigation.

Prior to joining Hackard Law, Brian represented charter schools at Young, Minney & Corr. His entrepreneurial spirit was evident even before his legal career when he co-founded the Ancestral Health Society, a nonprofit organization hosting annual symposiums on health and nutrition, and Academic Impact, a tutoring and college counseling business that continues to serve Sacramento students today.

A graduate of Jesuit High School, Sacramento (2002) and Loyola Marymount University (B.A., English with honors, 2006), Brian balances his professional achievements with his personal interests and cherishes time spent with his family.

John DePiazza | Akel DePiazza Fiduciary

Continuing the legacy of a military family who values service to humanity, John DePiazza is an Army veteran and West Point graduate with 28 years of active and reserve service. He lives his life guided by the West Point motto, “Duty, Honor, Country” and tries to serve as the “man for others” his Jesuit educators challenged him to be. John also seeks to provide clients with the operational excellence and outstanding client service his UC Davis MBA professors taught him.

He has extensive experience in corporate operations and brings a project management and team approach to his fiduciary service. He has one of the larger fiduciary teams in California and their experience with trusts of all types, estates and probate, health care agent, conservatorships as well as all the other roles that a fiduciary team can serve in are second to none. John has previously held or currently holds a variety of professional degrees, licenses, and certifications. California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, Certified National Guardian, Certified Senior Adviser, Residential Care for the Elderly Administrator, General Contractor, Professional Project Manager, Civil Engineer are included on that list.

John DePiazza brings a multifaceted background to his fiduciary practice, combining decades of leadership, technical expertise, and a deep commitment to ethical service. His diverse career spans engineering, project management, and elder care administration, reflecting a lifelong dedication to professional growth and excellence.

As a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary and holder of multiple certifications across industries, John is uniquely positioned to navigate the complexities of estate, trust, and conservatorship administration. He prioritizes transparent communication and collaborative problem-solving, fostering trust with clients, families, and professional advisors alike. Beyond his professional achievements, John remains actively engaged in supporting veteran and elder communities, advocating for dignity, respect, and quality of life for vulnerable populations.

I. Fiduciary duties of trustees: The legal framework | 1:00pm – 1:30pm

• Duty of loyalty and prohibition against self-dealing
• Prudent investor obligations under modern standards
• Duty to inform and report to beneficiaries
• Duty of impartiality among beneficiaries
• Consequences of breach and emerging trends in case law

II. Recognizing red flags of trustee misconduct | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

• Financial warning signs: Unusual investments, unexplained losses, commingling
• Communication breakdown patterns with beneficiaries
• Trust document manipulation and improper amendments
• HEMS standard violations and discretionary distribution abuse
• Administrative failures in record-keeping and transparency

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

III. Legal remedies and action steps | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

• Emergency court interventions to prevent further harm
• Petition strategies for trustee removal and suspension
• Financial recovery options: Surcharge actions and equitable remedies
• Building your case: Discovery techniques and documentation
• Settlement considerations and post-resolution protections

IV. Trustee depositions: Strategies and practical examples | 2:40pm – 3:10pm

• Preparation and structure for effective trustee depositions
• Questioning techniques for professional vs. unlicensed trustees
• Exposing conflicts of interest and self-dealing
• Documenting HEMS standard violations through testimony
• Using depositions to establish breach of fiduciary duty