Doctrine of De Facto Trustee Recognized

In the course of a divorce action in Washington, the court appointed a professional guardianship agency as the trustee of a trust the husband had created for his children. In an earlier case, the court held that the divorce court lacked jurisdiction to appoint a trustee. The agency then began proceedings to appoint a trustee to protect the children’s assets. The husband opposed the agency’s action maintaining that after the court’s decision, it had no authority to do anything with regard to the trust. The court in In re Irrevocable Trust of McKean, 183 P.3d 317 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008), held as a matter of first impression that because the agency assumed the office of trustee under color of right and in good faith that the doctrine of de facto trustee applied to validate the agency’s actions as if it were the trustee.