The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that an exemption to the application of PA Realty Transfer Tax Section (RTT) for no or nominal consideration from a trust under Section 1102-C.3(9.1)1 applies not only to transfers...more
Consider the following situation. Settlor owns a thousand acres of land in a domestic-asset- protection haven (DAPT state). While he is alive, he transfers in trust the land to a corporate trustee that does business...more
A longstanding and critical incident of a trustee’s fiduciary duty of loyalty is the duty to vigorously defend the trust’s very existence, as well as all its material provisions (hereinafter “existence defense”), unless it...more
Two recent cases out of the Michigan Court of Appeals address the legal standards for interpreting a trust agreement. In re Larry Berman Revocable Living Trust, Docket No. 364315 (Feb. 1, 2024); In re Thomas J. and Carol A....more
Understanding the significance of trustee notice, as mandated by Probate Code Section 16061.7, is crucial in trust administration. This notice is required upon the occurrence of certain events, most notably, when a trust...more
In re Esther Kratzer Revocable Trust & In re Wendell Kratzer Revocable Trust, Docket Nos 357860, 357861 (Mich Ct App Mar 23 2023) (unpublished). Wendell and Esther Kratzer, husband and wife, had four children including...more
According to a report issued by the National Association of Realtors a couple of days ago, last year saw a large outmigration of people from California and New York, while Florida and Texas experienced a comparably large...more
In an opinion released last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a petition to modify the terms of a trust to allow for the early distribution of trust assets to the beneficiaries. The court also denied the...more
It is common practice when a trust is established for the economic settlor to provide a letter of wishes, addressed to the trustees of the trust, setting out their wishes with respect to the administration of the trust. For...more
Welcome to the fifth edition of our Private Client Bulletin, bringing you the latest private client and trust news and insights from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, BVI and Asia. In this issue, we have several notable...more
In 2017, the English High Court decision of Mezhprom v Pugachev caused ripples in the trusts world as to the extent to which a settlor of a trust can reserve powers for the trust to be considered valid. Several commentators...more
Recent decisions in California and Mississippi illustrate the divergence among states regarding enforcement of in terrorem clauses in wills and trusts...more
In Ron v. Ron, a wife created a trust with her husband as a trustee, a friend as a trust protector, and their children as the beneficiaries. No. 3:19-CV-00211, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52507 (S.D. Tex. February 4, 2020)....more
A key feature of a California revocable trust is that it can be amended. Revising a trust can, however, seem like an irksome chore so it’s common for creators of trusts (i.e., “settlors” or “trustors”) to shrug off an...more
Areas of Discussion: - In this Presentation, we will discuss the following: - Duty of loyalty; - Authority for trustee compensation; - Factors for reasonable compensation; - Other issues arising from trustee...more
Revocable trusts are a ubiquitous part of modern US estate planning because they avoid the delay, cost and publicity inherent in probate administration and, in the international context, because of the certainty they provide...more
In In re Macy Lynne Quintanilla Trust, a settlor created three trusts for his children in 2014. No. 04-17-00753-CV2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8223 (Tex. App.—San Antonio October 10, 2018, no pet. history)....more
In late 2016, Michigan lawmakers passed a good deal of new legislation. One of the laws, the Qualified Dispositions in Trusts Act, enables an individual (the “settlor”) to create a trust that, in certain circumstances, can...more
I have recently received numerous questions from commercial lender clients regarding structuring and enforcing commercial real property loans involving revocable trusts. Their concerns have largely centered on how to...more
As a general rule, any beneficiary of a trust would have standing to seek its enforcement in the courts. The Restatement (Third) of Trusts is sending mixed signals as to whether the settlor of a trust, qua settlor, would have...more
One of the critical duties of a trustee traditionally has been to defend his trust against internal attacks. By that I mean to defend the trust against those who, in contravention of the settlor’s intentions as expressed in...more