The trustees of an estate recently ended up in court when they had to determine who should receive the money left in trust for the benefit of a school. The trust litigation that ensued after the death of the creator of the trust was ultimately decided by a probate court. Now, our readers in Nevada may be glad to learn that the intent of the person who made the trust will be followed.
In the trust litigation, the trust creator’s family asked the court to determine the proper distribution of the money left for the benefit of the school after a complication ensued. In the trust document, $165,000 was set aside for scholarships at the Christian school that was a favorite of the person who created the trust. However, the trust corpus was required to be paid to a church if the school discontinued operations.
The church subsequently incorrectly informed the trustees that the school had closed. Acting on that representation, the trustees distributed the trust corpus to the church. However, the school did not close, and the decedent’s family stepped in and sued for the church to return the funds to the trustees.
In many trust litigation cases in Nevada, the determination of the intent of estate planning documents is at issue. This can happen despite efforts of trustees to abide by the terms of the trust. When litigation does occur, those involved may gain by reviewing all applicable laws and procedures as they prepare to argue their case in court.
Source: mlive.com, “Judge rules that Calvary Christian Schools can keep donation that Calvary Church had tried to take, attorney says,” Lynn Moore, Feb. 17, 2013