Careful drafting and continual monitoring of estate documents are critical to avoiding future pitfalls, especially in cases involving divorce. Two recent court cases serve as a paradigm for this need. In the first case, the Connecticut Supreme Court held that decanting was authorized in a divorce action. This effectively allowed the husband, who was the beneficiary of a 1983 trust established by his father, to transfer the trust assets into a new trust that prevented his wife from reaching them. In a New York case, the decedent named her ex-husband as executor and beneficiary of her estate. The alternate for both positions was the ex-husband’s father. Under New York law, an ex-spouse may not serve as an executor or beneficiary. The New York court held that this disqualification did not apply to the ex-husband’s father.
See Michael S. Fischer, Two Court Rulings Highlight Divorce Planning Loopholes, Financial Advisor, November 27, 2017.
