Is a Trust A Contract and What If It Is?
Typically, in estate planning trusts, the settlor and the trustee are the same person. Having only one person involved in the creation of a trust prevents an essential element of a contract — a meeting of the minds (aggretatio mentium). Many state cases have held that a “party cannot contract with himself.”
Distributees of trust one sought to have the lower Court prevent a finding of validity of trust two, as grantor had a guardian and conservator. Evidence was introduced of a mild cognitive disorder. Grantor objected to the guardianship and conservatorship.
Kemp Klein Attorneys Joseph P. Buttiglieri and Robert S. Zawideh successfully represented the the plaintiffs in a case in which they were disinherited. After hotly contested litigation, all the parties agreed to a 60/40 split of the estate, with the 40% group (who weren’t in the final will).
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