A Small Step for an Impatient BeneficiaryA Small Step for an Impatient Beneficiary
A giant leap (backwards) for the Uniform Law Commission.
Once upon a time . . . in 1841, the English Court of Chancery ruled that a beneficiary could petition to terminate a trust in clear violation of the terms of the trust and the intentions of the settlor. That case, Saunders v. Vautier,1 disregarded hundreds of years of trust law and unintentionally opened the door to perhaps the most drastic and damaging change to trust law than any other decision related to trusts.
The relevant details of the case, briefly stated, are that the settlor left shares of stock in trust to be distributed to his nephew at age 25. If the nephew died before that age, the shares would pass to the nephew’s estate. When the nephew reached age 21, he petitioned the court to terminate the trust and direct transfer of ...
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