Relatives of Two DuPont Marriages Fight Over Trust in Final Will

Ernest du Pont formed a trust in Delaware for his 6-year-old son, Samuel, in 1936. The terms dictated that the trust would provide for Samuel until he reached the age of 21, then pay him the income of the trust for the rest of his life. Upon his death, Samuel could use his Limited Powers of Appointment under the trust to name beneficiaries from a certain class, or if no beneficiaries were named the trust would be distributed to his “lawful issue” in “equal shares per stirpes.” The trust would then dissolve 21 years after Samuel’s death.

Samuel du Pont was married twice in his life – once in 1951 and then again in 1962. The day he married his second wife, Jan, was the day his divorce from his first wife, Halen, became final. His first marriage produced 3 children, and he adopted his second wife’s two children. One of those two adopted children, Diane du Pont Beck, had two children – Jennifer and Ernest Beck – and are Samuel du Pont’s grandchildren.

Part of Samuel and Halen’s divorce settlement was an executed will of Samuel naming their 3 children as sole beneficiaries to the 1936 trust. In 2015, mere months prior to his death, Samuel executed another will bequeathing Ernest Beck $250,000 from the trust, and Diane Du Pont Beck the remainder of the trust. The 3 children from his first marriage were named as remote contingent beneficiaries.

So, who gets the trust? Is the trust bound by the divorce decree in Nevada? The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware said no, the intent of the settlor governs the ability for the donee to decide who receives the trust before the donee’s death. As the appointment of beneficiaries was a testamentary ability by the terms set forth by Ernest du Pont, the final will and testament of Samuel Francis du Pont wins the day.

See Jaci Smith, Case Pits Relatives of Two DuPont Marriages Against Each Other Over Final Will, Delaware Online, September 27, 2018; see also In Re: The Trust FBO Samuel Francis DuPont, September 25, 2018.

Special thanks to Eric Chiappinelli (Professor, Texas Tech School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.