Estate Planning in Anticipation of Litigation

California recently enacted its decanting statute. The new law allows an authorized fiduciary to modify the terms of an irrevocable trust without the beneficiaries’ consent or court approval. Nevertheless, the settlor’s intent must be preserved, and no beneficiary can object. Here’s how the law compares to the Uniform Trust Decanting Act (UTDA) and other state decanting statutes.

Spendthrift Trusts, Limited Protection for Deadbeat Beneficiaries. - California law has long recognized a settlor’s right to restrict a beneficiary’s use of trust assets. Restraints on alienation, spendthrift clauses, shutdown clauses and wholly discretionary trusts are a few of the tools settlors may use when creating a trust for the benefit of someone likely to have creditor problems.

Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium