What is a Fiduciary Relationship?

A fiduciary relationship is a relationship wherein one party (typically a weaker party) reposes trust and confidence in another party typically a stronger party with the expectation that the stronger party will act in the best interests of the weaker party. Well this is a difficult question answer because it must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Each case must be assessed on its merits. That said, typical relationships include lawyer-client, accountant client, the financial advisor-client even, let's say you have a caretaker acting for a disabled person or an elderly person that might be characterized as a fiduciary relationship as well. Typically the hallmark, in very general terms, the hallmark would be a party who lacks knowledge or the acting unto participate in a situation retains a party with greater knowledge to act on their behalf and in their best interest. The manner in which a fiduciary relationship affects your legal rights really depends on which side of the relationship you're on. For the client of a fiduciary you have the ability to scrutinize whether the fiduciary has met the standard of care to which they're held. If not, you have the ability to bring a case in court. Now for the fiduciary you're held to a very high standard of care and you need to be aware of what your legal obligations are under the circumstances of that relationship. The duties that are owed by a fiduciary depend on the circumstances of the case. That said, the general duties that are owed are duties of good-faith, loyalty, candor, honesty, and the duty to act in the best interests of the client, and follow their instructions. You should call a lawyer, and the lawyer will be able to tell you whether you are in a fiduciary relationship, and if so, whether there has been a breach of that relationship. At my firm, we have experience in this area of law and I myself have personally acted in these cases. As a fiduciary, you're held to a very high standard of care, and what a lawyer is going to do is be able to advise you on how to meet that standard of care and how to avoid getting into legal trouble by breaching the standard of care