Should Beneficiaries Be Able to Undo Dynasty Trusts?

Assistant Professor Joshua C. Tate of the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University has recently authored an interesting article entitled Perpetual Trusts and the Settlor’s Intent which is scheduled to appear in the Kansas Law Review.

Here is the abstract of the article as provided on SSRN:

In recent years, a number of American states have abolished the Rule Against Perpetuities, allowing for the creation of perpetual dynasty trusts. Some scholars have suggested that these states should also pass statutes making it easier for beneficiaries and trustees to undo a perpetual dynasty trust after the settlor has died. This article makes use of a novel source of empirical evidence – websites created by estate planners to entice clients to set up dynasty trusts – to show that settlors’ goals would be frustrated by the proposed legislation.