How Do People Generally Discover A Broken Trust?

In my experience, there is always a triggering event when a person becomes disgruntled or unhappy with the current trust agreement as it relates to their situation. They may find out that they are ineligible for public assistance due to the assets in the trust, for example. That beneficiary would need to go to an attorney to seek changes in the trust. The possible remedies to repair broken trusts can include doing a decanting of a trust or trust modifications under set reasons compliant with Florida law. A trust protector or trust advisor can modify an irrevocable trust and all the parties to a trust can agree to modify the terms of the trust.

If none of those options work or the creator of the trust is no longer in the picture, you can look to reform the trust. Reform means revert the terms of the trust back to the grantor’s intent because the document is not fulfilling the grantor’s intent. The best solution would be to discuss the situation with an estate planning or elder law trust attorney to find the best option for you, depending on your facts and circumstances and the terms of the existing trust.

Isn’t It The Point Of An Irrevocable Trust That It Can’t Be Changed?

The term irrevocable as it relates to trust law typically relates to what the creator of the trust can and can’t do, after its creation. If it is irrevocable, it cannot be changed by the creator after the creation and funding of the trust. An irrevocable trust can be modified, reformed, or decanted by a third party such as a court, a trust advisor, or a trust protector.

When Can A Trust Not Be Modified After Someone Has Passed Away?

A trust becomes permanent and more unchangeable after someone passes away. There are provisions that permit modification by a court or by the parties under the Florida Trust Code. However, the trustee and the beneficiaries can only modify the trust if all the parties agree. If there is no agreement, then then there is no modification. The other way to modify a trust could be that under a change in law, the trust is no longer economical or no longer fulfilling its initial purpose. If the facts and circumstances and the terms of the trust are not present to where a judge would grant the modification, then it cannot be modified.

If you are looking to create a trust that can never be modified, then you need to be considering the items in the drafting of your trusts, so that beneficiaries and trustees can’t change it after you pass away. The original reason for these abilities to modify is the fact that we can’t always predict the future and trusts can go on for hundreds of years. The trust language cannot correctly predict all potential contingencies that occur under the language, the laws, and the beneficiaries. (weddingful.com)

It is up to the attorney to craft the proper argument about the situation, the facts, and the circumstance surrounding the creation of trusts in the past, the facts, and the beneficiaries’ needs. The Florida Trust Code allows a judge to recognize that there is not a fit between a situation and the original intent of the creator, and to modify a trust and the terms of the trust to fit the situation. The best way to make the trust unmodifiable is to draft it in such a way where it cannot be modified in the future by including language in the trust document around the fact that these statutory reasons to modify a trust cannot ever apply.

For more information on Discovering A Broken Trust In Florida, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.

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