Fiduciary Law Trends 2020Fiduciary Law Trends 2020

A new year has come and gone with no absence of fascinating cases. The following notable cases highlighted developments we see surfacing in the fiduciary field.

Distributions and Equitable Division 

A court in Massachusetts ruled on whether a discretionary trust should be included when dividing marital property in a divorce case. In Levitan v. Rosen,¹ the wife had a beneficial interest in a discretionary trust created by her father. The trust provided that she could withdraw up to 5% of the trust principal each year, generally referred to as a “5 x 5 power.” The Massachusetts Appellate Court, vacating a portion of the trial court’s ruling, found that even though the withdrawal right is governed by the spendthrift provision, it may be inclu...