The remedy treats a wrongful holder as trustee for the rightful beneficiary. It applies to property obtained through undue influence, fraud, breach of a promise to hold for another, or breach of fiduciary duty.
Tracing into substituted assets is permitted.
Alternative Names:
Estate Constructive Trust|Equitable Trust (Estate)
Why it Matters?
The remedy reaches non-probate assets that a will contest cannot, since beneficiary designations, joint accounts, and lifetime transfers pass outside the estate and are challengeable only through an equitable claim against the recipient. That makes constructive trust the principal tool where the challenged transfers occurred outside the testamentary instrument. Tracing permits recovery even where the recipient converted the property.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What does the remedy reach that a will contest cannot?
Does conversion defeat recovery?
