PLR 201214022 — No General Power To Appoint Remainder of Residuary Trust After Will Reformation

A decedent drafted his will quickly when he went in for an emergency surgery and died a few months thereafter. The will inadvertently gave the surviving spouse the general power to appoint the remainder of the residuary credit shelter trust. The state court reformed the will according to the scrivener’s testimony.

In PLR 201214022, the Service ruled that the surviving spouse did not have a general power to appoint the remainder of the residuary trust and that the reformation was not a release of a general power.

See PLR 201214022 – Reformation to Correct Scrivener’s Error, Charitable Planning, Apr. 9, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.