Tiffany Bentley and Noelle Lussier, of Burns & Levinson LLP, have made available for download their article, “Trustee Removal: MUTC v. Trust Document,” published in JDSUPRA. The abstract is as follows:
Just because a trustee was named in a trust document does not necessarily mean they will continue to serve perpetually. Many trust instruments include language granting the settlor (creator of the trust), and/or the beneficiaries the authority to remove a trustee, with or without specific “cause” for removal. In addition, the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (“MUTC”) provides specific grounds upon which a settlor, co-trustee, or beneficiary may seek a trustee’s removal. The MUTC also includes a “no-fault” removal provision, which allows for the removal of a seemingly otherwise-suitable trustee. The Kahn case, recently decided by the Massachusetts Appeals Court, addresses what happens when a beneficiary seeks to invoke the MUTC’s no-fault removal statute to a trust that otherwise allows removal only “with cause.”
Posted by Melissa Zheng, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
Wealth Strategies Journal 