Since 2011, I have worked on over 30 cases dealing with breach of fiduciary duty. This can involve duty of impartiality, the duty to account, or duty to diversify. But also the fiduciary duties of loyalty, candor, and fair disclosure. I have also rendered opinions in cases involving challenges to the amount of a trustee’s fee. In so doing, I have been engaged by both plaintiff and defense counsel.

1. “The Rauschenberg
Foundation – a Case”
Charles W. Ranson
Meeting Charles W. Ranson
Charles W. Ranson charleswranson.wordpress.com Wealth Management

2. “The Rauschenberg
Foundation – a Case”
Charles W. Ranson
Interview with Chuck Ranson, Expert Witness in Wealth Management,
at Charles W. Ranson Consulting, Inc.
What kind of cases have you been working on?
Well, since 2011, I have worked on over 30 cases dealing with breach of
fiduciary duty. This can involve duty of impartiality, the duty to account, or duty
to diversify. But also the fiduciary duties of loyalty, candor, and fair disclosure.
I have also rendered opinions in cases involving challenges to the amount of a
trustee’s fee. In so doing, I have been engaged by both plaintiff and defense
counsel.
Where do you normally
get your expertise
requests from?
In the past five years I have
received over 150 inquiries
from plaintiff or defense
firms seeking my expert
services, and I have chosen
to accept only 30 cases. You
should know I’m very
selective of the cases I
choose to work on and I
carefully analyze the facts of
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3. each case before determining whether I can be of value in the case. Whether
I’m r retained by the defense firm or the plaintiff firm, my opinions are based
entirely on the facts and evidence within the case file and bolstered by my
education, training, and experience.
Can you give us an example of this?
Sure. Let me illustrate this selection process. In 2013, I was engaged by the law
firm of Foley and Lardner in Orlando, Florida, which represented the trustees
of the Robert Rauschenberg Trust.
At issue was the determination of reasonable trustee fees under the
circumstances. In this case, the trustees were seeking between $25 and $55
million in trustee fees, while the beneficiary foundation thought that a fee of less
than $350,000 was reasonable.
In Florida the reasonableness of a trustee’s fee is based on the 1958 Supreme
Court ruling in “Florida West Coast Hospital Association v. Florida National
Bank”. In that case, the Florida Supreme Court held that in determining
reasonable trustee fees, 11 factors must be considered in order to determine
whether the trustee’s fee is reasonable given the circumstances.
At the time of Mr. Rauschenberg’s
death, his estate was valued at
between $800 million and $900
million, which included his
intellectual property. The trust
agreement appointed 3 trustees to
administer his estate and trust for the
beneficiary, a non-profit – the
Rauschenberg Foundation and
Museum.
Given the economic circumstances of
2008 to 2009, most hard assets fell in
value. However, between 2010 and
2012, the trustees selectively
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4. organized events to showcase Rauschenberg’s works in cities such as New York,
Paris and London. By 2013, the trustees had turned over all of the art and assets
to the Foundation and Museum and the art was reappraised and valued
between $1.9 and $2.3 billion.
In applying the 11 factors articulated by the Florida Supreme Court, and based
on my professional experience as a trust banker at Bank of America, J.P.
Morgan Chase, and Atlantic Trust, I opined that reasonable trustee fees
amounted to between $35 and $55 million. After hearing my testimony, the Lee
County Probate Court Judge ruled that the trustees were entitled to $24.6
million in fees. In his written opinion, the judge thought my range of fees
probably included the profitability of a corporate trustee. In this case I wrote an
expert report, was deposed by opposing counsel, and testified at trial.
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