The Court of Chancery in Delaware has recently rejected the petition by the income beneficiary of a trust to modify its written terms to permit the inclusion of an investment adviser and directed trustee. In In re Trust Under Will of Wallace B. Flint for the Benefit of Katherine F. Shadek the court held that letting the beneficiary modify the trust would contradict the State of Delaware’s policy of upholding the settlors intent. “This decision is significant because it’s an example of Delaware’s rejection of the current trend to prioritize the wishes of the beneficiaries even if the settlor’s intent is clearly stated.” This column discusses some of the details of this important decision and how it rejects the current legal trend that many other states are adopting.
See Pamela Lucina and John Welsh, Delaware Court Rejects Trend to Prioritize Beneficiaries’ Wishes, Wealth Management, October 5, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
