United States Trust Law - Termination / Reformation of A Trust

Termination / Reformation of A Trust

With the exception of certain charitable trusts that can run perpetually, virtually all trusts with individual beneficiaries must end at a date certain. Of course, if a grantor has the power to do so, a trust terminates when it is revoked. Grantors also may amend the trust as they see fit during their lifetime, so long as they continue to retain the capacity to do so. For irrevocable trusts, the trust terminates when a trust "expires pursuant to its terms, no purpose of the trust remains to be achieved, or the purposes of the trust have become unlawful, contrary to public policy, or impossible to achieve." Most typically, such events occur when a certain class of beneficiaries receive all trust property outright, free of the restriction of the trust agreement, and trust administration is then "wrapped" up and the trust closed.

In some instances, however, it may be desirable to change the trust's terms or even terminate the trust by a method that the original grantor did not contemplate. For example, the trust may be depleted to such an extent that the management of the trust by a professional may be uneconomical. Changes in the law or circumstances surrounding the formation of the trust after the death of the grantor may dictate changes in the terms of the trust (or the termination of the trust itself.) The most infamous example would be beneficiaries who clamor against the trustee to "bust the trust" based on the strict limits the trust (or the trustee) may impose on the trust assets. In many of these cases, the UTC provides beneficiaries (and trustees) relief to provide the flexibility needed to dispose of trust property under certain rules.