Fixing Broken Revocable Trusts: The Power of Non-Judicial Settlement Agreements (On-Demand)

Course Description

This course will provide an overview and guide on how to diagnose and repair a trust that produces a result that no one intended, or a trust that cannot be administered as written. The attendee will learn what questions to ask to prevent a ‘broken’ trust from beginning. The power of decanting and non-judicial settlement agreements will also be discussed.

Principles

• Careful Trust Planning Helps Prevent Administration Problems
  • Asking the right questions during the drafting process, evaluating the settlor’s capacity, and anticipating potential issues can reduce the likelihood that a revocable trust will become difficult or impossible to administer as intended.
• Understanding Fiduciary Authority Is Essential to Effective Trust Administration
  • The relationship between revocable trusts, powers of attorney, and trustee powers and duties determines who has authority to act and how trust administration should proceed when issues arise.
• Broken Trusts Can Often Be Repaired Without Court Intervention
  • When a trust no longer reflects the settlor’s intent or cannot be administered as written, practitioners should evaluate available nonjudicial remedies, including trust modifications and other corrective strategies, before pursuing litigation.
• Decanting and Non-Judicial Settlement Agreements Are Powerful Trust Modification Tools
  • Decanting statutes and non-judicial settlement agreements provide flexible mechanisms to resolve drafting errors, administrative obstacles, and unintended consequences while preserving the trust’s objectives and facilitating efficient administration.

Syllabus

1. Preventing Broken Trusts- Asking the Right Questions
2. Capacity to Initiate a Living Trust and Power of Attorney
3. Interplay of Powers of Attorney and the Living Trust
4. Trustees Powers and Duties
5. Diagnosing & Repairing Broken Revocable Trusts
6. Hypothetical Examples and Decanting
7. Non-Judicial Settlement Agreements