Statutory Modification Authority Was Not Limited By A Trust Provision Governing Removal Of Trustees

The majority of the beneficiaries of four related trusts sought to amend the trust terms under 20 Pa. Stat. § 7740.1 to add a mechanism allowing the income beneficiaries of the trusts to remove a corporate trustee without cause. The existing corporate trustee opposed the modification and the trial court agreed with its argument that 20 Pa. Stat. § 7766 is the sole authority governing the removal of trustees. On appeal, in In re Trust Under Agreement of Edward Winslow Taylor, No. 2701 EDA 2014, 2015 WL 5474319 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 18, 2015), the Superior Court reversed, finding that the modification did not involve removing a trustee, only providing a mechanism for doing so, and that modification without the consent of all beneficiaries is possible so long as it would be appropriate had all the beneficiaries consented. The court also held that the statutory language in no way implicated the trustee removal section.