Trusts, Estates & Tax Law

NEWSLETTER:  (7/26/2011) Delaware Trust Act 2011 Signed Into Law

On July 13, 2011, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed Trust Act 2011 into law, effective August 1, 2011.  Trust Act 2011 provides advancements in Delaware trust law that will provide settlors, beneficiaries and fiduciaries of trusts with more tools and greater flexibility to accomplish their objectives.  Morris Nichols' Trusts, Estates and Tax Group is pleased to share our eighth annual Delaware legislative update with you.

Click here to download a summary of the material provisions of the new legislation.  (PDF 427 KB)

CLIENT UPDATE: (12/3/2010) Chancery Court Holds Non-fiduciary Jointly and Severally Liable for Trustee's Breach

The Delaware Court of Chancery evaluated a trustee's decision to borrow against a life insurance policy that was the principal asset of an irrevocable trust and to extend a corresponding loan to the couple who funded the trust. The Court found that the trustee acted to please the couple rather than to benefit the trust, breaching his fiduciary duty of loyalty. The Court also held that the trustee's legal power to make the loan did not excuse his inequitable conduct, nor could the advice the trustee obtained from counsel serve as a dispositive defense.

Click here to download a summary, analysis and copy of the Court's Memorandum Opinion. (PDF 762 PDF)

CLIENT UPDATE: In the Matter of Trust for Grandchildren of Wilbert L. and Genevieve W. Gore Dated April 14, 1972. CA. No. 1165-VCN, V.C. Noble (Del. Ch. Sept. 1, 2010) (Mem. Op.)

A recent Delaware Court of Chancery opinion used the doctrine of unclean hands to bar a trust beneficiary from claiming a personal economic interest in a trust.  The opinion was issued in response to a Petition for Construction filed by a co-trustee of the subject trust, who had adopted her ex-husband so that he would become a beneficiary of the trust.

Click here to download a discussion and analysis of the opinion. (PDF 723 KB)