I cannot overstate how destructive and damaging my experience has been with Thomas K. Porta as trustee. He has failed in nearly every fiduciary duty required of him and has treated my trust as though it were his personal property. For months, he has deliberately withheld my rightful distributions, leaving me without access to the funds I rely on for basic living expenses. This is not only unconscionable, but a direct violation of the duties of loyalty, impartiality, and prudent administration required of a trustee under California Probate Code.
Instead of protecting my inheritance, Mr. Porta has threatened me by openly stating that he will use my own trust funds to pay for lawyers against me -- essentially weaponizing my assets to silence me. He unilaterally invested the entirety of my inheritance (approximately $93,000 from my father's estate) into E*TRADE without my knowledge or consent, a reckless and unauthorized action that has put my financial security at risk.
His conflicts of interest are undeniable. He is personally connected to my deceased grandmother's husband and has even notarized documents that raise serious questions of legality and impartiality. A trustee must avoid self-dealing and even the appearance of impropriety, yet Mr. Porta has operated in the shadows, making secretive and harmful decisions while refusing to provide clear communication or accounting.
He has shown callous disregard for my learning disabilities, expecting me to "just know" complex legal and financial matters that he has a legal obligation to explain. Instead of acting with transparency and compassion, he has chosen intimidation, stonewalling, and abuse of power.
In my view, Mr. Porta is not only unfit to act as a trustee -- he is dangerous in that role. He has caused me severe emotional distress, jeopardized my financial stability, and abused his position of trust in ways that no beneficiary should ever have to endure.
For anyone considering him as a trustee, fiduciary, or financial manager: avoid him at all costs. He is the epitome of conflict of interest, negligence, and bad faith.
Thomas K. Porta is the worst trustee imaginable. He has withheld my rightful distributions for months, threatened to use my own trust funds against me, and invested my inheritance without consent. He has blatant conflicts of interest, zero transparency, and has completely failed his fiduciary duties under California law. Avoid him at all costs. read more