Baselines in Trust Term Extension

5 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2015 Last revised: 16 Jul 2015

See all articles by Alexander A. Boni-Saenz

Alexander A. Boni-Saenz

University of Minnesota Law School; Chicago-Kent College of Law

Date Written: July 1, 2015

Abstract

The next battleground in the rancorous war over the Rule Against Perpetuities may be trust term extension. Seeking to take advantage of the abolition of the Rule in many states, trustees of irrevocable trusts settled before such a change in law might petition the court to extend the term of the trusts they administer, perhaps indefinitely. Professor Weisbord is rightly skeptical of this move, and he recommends a simple but elegant solution: prohibiting the use of modification doctrines to add beneficiaries not identified in the original trust document. This essay makes two related points and suggests an alternative solution. First, the legal analysis of trust term extension is highly sensitive to the baseline one selects, which, in turn, incorporates many policy preferences about dead hand control. Thus, the debate about trust term extension risks devolving into a debate about whether or not to abolish the Rule Against Perpetuities. Second, one’s view of trust term extension need not flow directly from one’s view of dead hand control, as the practical problems in divining settlor intent with regard to perpetual trusts will be shared by disputants on both sides of that debate. A reform addressed to these concerns would permit trust term extension, but require proponents of modification to provide clear and convincing evidence of settlor intent to create a perpetual trust.

Keywords: baseline, dead hand control, perpetual, trust, Rule Against Perpetuities

Suggested Citation

Boni-Saenz, Alexander Antonio, Baselines in Trust Term Extension (July 1, 2015). Florida Law Review Forum, Vol. 97, p. 30, 2015, Chicago-Kent College of Law Research Paper No. 2015-08, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2625278

Alexander Antonio Boni-Saenz (Contact Author)

University of Minnesota Law School ( email )

United States

Chicago-Kent College of Law ( email )

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
United States

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