The Supreme Court of Delaware, on appeal from the Court of Chancery has emphatically upheld spendthrift protection in trusts in the case of Mennen v. Fiduciary Trust International of Delaware. The Chancery Court opinion can be found here. The Supreme Court affirmed here . A judgment of $88 million was placed against a
Enforcement of Arbitration Clauses in Trusts
Ever since George Washington included arbitration provisions in his will, this idea has kicked around. Washington’s will contained this language:
"That all disputes (if unhappily they should arise) shall be decided by three impartial and intelligent men, known for their probity and good understanding; two to be chose by the disputants each having the choice
Decanting News – Decant Without a Statute
On July 29, 2013, in the case of Morse v. Kraft the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the Trustee of an irrevocable trust in which the Trustees had full discretion to distribute trust principal "for the benefit of" the beneficiary, could, without consent or court approval, distribute the assets to a different trust with the same
Trustee Fees – How Much?
The Trust Advisor Blog includes this post on Who’s Charging What for Trust Services: click here
Fees – the big question clients ask about corporate trustees. What do they charge and what do they do? Here is some excellent up-to-date information.
Hat tip to Juan Altunez at Florida Probate and Trust Litigation Blog.
Consumers Beware: Trust Mills Aren’t To Be Trusted
Fear-mongers have used the inter-vivos trust, also called revocable living trust, to sell books, trust kits, trust documents and other products and services. They often do this without regard to the individual’s tax and personal objectives. They scare the client by telling them that probate is a dreadfully complicated and horrendously expensive process. Then they
PA UTA – Required Trust Notices Deadline Approaches
Trustees of Pennsylvania trusts have until November 6th to comply with the new notice requirements of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act (PA UTA). This new legislation requires notice to beneficiaries and interested parties of the existence of trusts.
Until now, there have been many "secret" trusts in Pennsylvania. In other words, many beneficiaries
If you are a Trustee, Read This
Trustees of Pennsylvania trusts have until November 6, 2008 to comply with the new notice requirements of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act (PA UTA). This new legislation requires notice to beneficiaries and interested parties of the existence of trusts.
Until now, there have been many “secret” trusts in Pennsylvania. There are many trusts whose beneficiaries