When beneficiaries refuse to acknowledge a Trustee’s authority on the grounds that they contend the Trust is not valid and enforceable, the Trustee may need to file a Petition to Determine the Validity of the Trust.  Alternatively, beneficiaries can bring a similar petition, a Petition to Determine that the Trust is Invalid. 

Common reasons to challenge the validity of a trust include undue influence, fraud, lack of capacity of the testator, forgery, and/or a failure of the written document to meet the statutory requirements to constitute a trust.

When a Trust is determined to be invalid, there are a number of other considerations.  For example, the court and parties will need to determine what documents, if any, controls the Testator’s estate and its administration.  Sometimes, only an amendment is declared to be invalid and earlier-executed documents can continue to control the estate.  Other times, and action to invalidate the Trust may mean that there is no valid Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, or Advance Health Care Directive, and that the Testator’s transfer to his or her Trust will also need to be unwound.  If these factors are not carefully considered at the outset of a Trust challenge, the outcome may be unfavorable to the beneficiary and/or the Trustor if they are still living.

Klinedinst’s Probate and Trust attorneys can help guide a beneficiary or Trustee through the process of challenging or otherwise determining the validity of a Trust and the other estate planning documents and implications.

Trust Administration

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