Here is a situation you might consider. Your great-great Uncle Cyrus named you
\nas a beneficiary of a Trust established by his Will. Every month (or quarter or year) you
\nreceive a distribution that you await with anticipation. You never actually read the
\ndocuments but you know your cousins have been complaining recently because the
\ninvestment company that administers the Trust has had very poor returns or their
\ncustomer service is poor and the company does not send reports or does not return
\ntelephone calls. Can the beneficiaries change the Trust and fire the Trustee (the bank or
\ninvestment company) that was named in the original document? What are the options?<\/p>\n
Another circumstance might demand your attention. You were named Trustee
\nunder a Supplemental Needs Trust for your brother who was seriously disabled. After
\nyears of therapy and hard work your brother now is working full time and completely
\nrecovered. He does not want the restrictions on distribution of the Trust and does not
\nreceive government benefits now nor has he ever nor does he expect to. Further, you do
\nnot want the position of Trustee. Can you and\/or your brother do anything about it?<\/p>\n
These are the kinds of questions that typically arise under a law known as the
\nUniform Trust Act. Pennsylvania adopted its own version of the Act and several other
\nStates have also adapted the law to their specifications. Sometimes you need to go to
\nCourt to get changes to a Trust. On the other hand, sometimes it can be changed by
\nagreement of the parties or possibly the provisions cannot be changed at all. You and
\nyour attorney have to know something about the law. In summary, the answer is, as in so
\nmany areas of the law affecting individuals \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/p>\n
First it should be noted that there are differences among Trusts. For instance
\nsuppose you set up a Trust during your lifetime either alone or with your spouse and
\nplace assets into the Trust. Most commonly this is a Revocable Living Trust. That
\nmeans that you or you and your spouse can change it or revoke it at any time during your
\nlife without intervention by anyone and certainly without Court action. What we are
\ndiscussing here are Irrevocable Trusts.<\/p>\n
The Trusts that make it interesting are the \u201cIrrevocable\u201d trusts. These come about
\neither because they are established as irrevocable or, in the alternative, they become
\nirrevocable on the death of the person who set it up. That person, the \u201cTrustor,\u201d
\n\u201cGrantor,\u201d or \u201cSettlor\u201d can no longer change the provisions of the Trust for the obvious
\nreason. He is deceased.<\/p>\n
If the Grantor is still living, provisions even of an Irrevocable Trust might be able
\nto be changed by written agreement of the Grantor and all the living beneficiaries without
\ngoing to Court. If minors or unborn children are affected, a parent beneficiary may stand
\nin for the child or children to agree. Once the Grantor dies Court intervention might be
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n
Whether it makes sense to change or revoke a Trust is a question for discussion
\nwith your elder law or estate attorney. Revoking or modifying a Trust is the most
\ncommon reason our office goes to Court and the results are often satisfying since they
\nmight take an old document that no longer accomplishes its original purposes and provide
\noptions for everyone concerned.<\/p>\n
The Trust might, for instance, have specified certain types of investments and the
\ninstructions could be outdated. The Trust might no longer be needed because of
\nchanging conditions or there might not be enough money in the Trust to make its
\nadministration worthwhile. The Trust may have been drafted in such a way that, with
\nchanges in the law, it can no longer accomplish its goals.<\/p>\n
Under some of these circumstances it may be necessary to file a Petition in what
\nis known as Orphans Court to modify or revoke the Trust. This does not have to be
\ncontentious. Often the parties agree but need permission to change or revoke the Trust.
\nThe issues are taken to Court and resolved.<\/p>\n
Options under the Uniform Trust Act may save time and create more flexibility
\nfor beneficiaries and their families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is a situation you might consider. Your great-great Uncle Cyrus named you as a beneficiary of a Trust established by his Will. Every month (or quarter or year) you receive a distribution that you await with anticipation. You never actually read the documents but you know your cousins have been complaining recently because the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,142],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n