Assets are typically only subject to the terms of a trust — and within the trustee’s control and authority — if they are owned by the trust. Assets need to be transferred to a trust in a legally precise way for the transfer to be effective. For instance, an actual deed conveying ownership must be…
Legal Articles
Trusts: Duty of Loyalty
A trustee has a fiduciary duty of loyalty to act in the best interests of the trust’s beneficiaries. While the Settlor (i.e., trust-maker) is alive and has capacity to revoke the trust, the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to the Settlor. Section 456.6-603, RSMo. There is typically a shift in these duties when…
Trust Law versus Corporate Law, Controlling Duties
When a trust owns corporate shares, do corporate fiduciary obligations or trustee obligations prevail? The answer is that generally a trustee’s obligations take priority. Upon incorporation of trust assets, the corporation becomes the alter ego of the trustees and the trustee’s acts are determined in the light of the trust. Weldon Revocable Trust v. Weldon, 231 S.W.3d 158, 171…
Trusts: Beneficiary, Qualified Beneficiary, Interested Person
In trust litigation, particularly breach of trust litigation, your legal relation to the trust is extremely important in determining what claims you can make. Missouri trust law distinguishes between a “qualified beneficiary,” “beneficiary” and “interested person.” By way of example, a qualified beneficiary is typically either someone who is eligible to receive mandatory or discretionary…
Declaratory Judgment to Challenge Revocable Living Trusts
The use of revocable living trusts in estate planning is extremely common. Along with the rise of their use, challenges to the validity of revocable living trusts have also risen. Trusts may be contested on a number of grounds, the most common of which are lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or duress. These claims…
Virtual Representation, Trust Disputes, Beneficiaries
Many types of trust litigation claims, including most breach of trust claims (e.g., breach of fiduciary duty) against a trustee and trust contests, require that all qualified beneficiaries to the trust be joined as parties. The reasoning is that if the Court is adjudicating a trust in which someone has an interest in, that person…
Trust Reformation, Mistake
Reformation is usually used in the context of a contract between two parties to correct a mistake and reform the contract to meet the parties’ intentions. It is, in other words, a court ordering a quasi re-writing, amendment and/or modification of a contract or written instrument. By way of example, reformation of a contract based…
No-Contest Clauses, Validity
No-contest clauses are frequently used in trusts and wills to prevent lawsuits challenging the validity of a will or trust. They typically provide that if someone challenges the document that the challenger is automatically disinherited. No-contest clauses are strictly enforced without regard to any exception based upon the good faith and/or probable cause of the…
Trust Protector: Powers, Duties, Limitations
An increasingly common technique used in trusts is to designate a trust protector. A trust protector is different than the settlor, trustee and beneficiary. Because the trust protector concept is relatively new, there has been uncertainty regarding the trust protector’s authority in trust administration, litigation and breach of trust suits. To address this uncertainty, Missouri…
Modification of Trust Because of Unanticipated Circumstances
Under Section 456.4-412, RSMo, the Court may modify an irrevocable trust if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor/trust-maker, the modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust. This statute obviously adds great flexibility to the Court’s ability to change the terms of a trust. This was largely in response to situations…