[WSBAPT] Trust Admin: Sub-Trusts

[Tom Garvey]

I am administering a Trust drafted in Arizona. The provisions call for the entire estate to go into a sub-trust/Survivor Trust on the death of the first spouse minus what the survivor disclaims for tax purposes (which, in this case, will be $0.00 because the estate is under 1 million). The Survivor Trust is revocable.

From a policy perspective I'm not quite understanding the point of the Survivor Trust. The couple had a blended family, so I feel like the deceased spouse's share should be locked up and irrevocable somehow so that his kids are taken care of. But no, the entire estate is to pass into the Survivor Trust, and leaves the survivor the option to modify or cancel the whole thing. And, she is planning to do so and change the beneficiaries.

Does anyone know why the original Trust would allow that? I know the AZ lawyers who drafted it at the time (20 years ago) may have had their reasons, but it does not seem like the parties would have agreed to the survivor changing the bene's, almost like a reciprocity argument applies here.

Thanks in advance for reading.

Tom Garvey | Attorney
Hanigan Law Office, PS
68 Main St. / PO Box 39
Cathlamet, WA 98612
(360) 795-3494
(360) 795-3001 - fax

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:THIS EMAIL IS INTENDED TO BE A CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION.IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT OF THIS EMAIL, PLEASE DO NOT READ OR PRINT IT.This transmission is intended for the sole use of the individual and entity to whom it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law.You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or duplication of this transmission by someone other than the intended addressee or its designated agent is strictly prohibited.If your receipt of this transmission is in error, please notify the sender immediately by calling 360.795.3494, or by reply to this transmission, and then permanently delete the message.

DISCLAIMER NOTICE:Email communication on the internet is NOT secure.There is a risk that this communication may be intercepted illegally, waiving any implied or explicit attorney-client or work-product privileges.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20210712/279bd763/attachment.html>