Don't Be Rigid

Rigid documents can also create obstacles for beneficiaries and trustees. Some attorneys have drafted dynasty trusts without providing the needed flexibility in fiduciary powers. Without flexibility, these trusts can force trustees into very difficult situations, such as the inability to appoint a successor. They can also hamper the ability to make amendments, and end up costing the decedents very high legal fees. If the grandparents created a trust in New York for example, but all of the grandchildren live in California, migrating the trust from one state to another is very difficult and expensive. Having the beneficiaries and trustees in proximity would facilitate meetings and mutual understand of each other’s role and expectations. In New York, for example, it would take a court order for move the trust. The trust document can resolve this issue by simply including a clause that permits “redomiciliation” and amendments related to it.