It is often said that the concept of \"fiduciary\" is at the heart of agency law

Question

It is often said that the concept of "fiduciary" is at the heart of agency law. Research and define what it means to be a "fiduciary" or to possess a "fiduciary duty." Identify and describe the five duties an agent is said to owe his principal. Give an example where you have seen or experienced the concept of a fiduciary relationship in your own personal or business lives. Have you ever been involved in a situation where you felt a fiduciary duty had been breached? Were you correct, and if so, why?

Explanation / Answer

A fiduciary is the heart of agency law because fiduciary is a person  who undertakes to act on behalf of and primarily for the benefit of another person,and fiduciary duty is a duty arising from the "trust" and "confidence" placed in a fiduciary by those on whose behalf and for whose benefit he or she acts.Some examples of this is include lawyer and clients,guardians and wards, and investment corporations and investors, Chartered accountant and client etc.The main duty of the fiduciary is as follows :

1)To responsibly act in the best interest of the party whose assets they are managing.Fiduciaries may not profit from their relationship with their principals unless they have the principal's express informed consent.

2)They also have a duty to avoid any conflicts of interest between his or her personal interests and those of the principal.

3) To discharge his or her duties with appropriate care and diligence,

4) To act within the scope of authority or power delegated by the principal.

5) To promptly hand over to the principal all money collected on principal's behalf.

Some examples where i personally experienced the concept of a fiduciary relationship are like keeping my pet dog in pet care shop when i have to go out of town for some days, hiring a lawyer for filing suit against an insurance company,hiring an Chartered accountant for managing my tax liabilities etc. There is one case where i felt fiduciary duty had been breached is when some of the important documents was misplaced by the lawyer which is to be produced as evidence and also which is impossible to recollect.Yes, i was correct in thinking so because the lawyer had not discharged his duty with due care and diligence.

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