{"id":9572,"date":"2024-02-19T15:32:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/higgslaw.local\/?p=9572"},"modified":"2024-02-19T15:32:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:32:12","slug":"precedent-setting-trust-amendment-decision-in-haggarty-v-thornton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/higgslaw.com\/precedent-setting-trust-amendment-decision-in-haggarty-v-thornton\/","title":{"rendered":"Precedent-Setting Trust Amendment Decision in Haggarty v. Thornton"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A precedent-setting appellate decision regarding how revocable trusts may be modified was just affirmed by the Supreme Court of California in the case\u00a0<span data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Haggarty<\/span>\u00a0v. Thornton.\u00a0Based on the Supreme Court\u2019s statutory interpretation, the Court\u2019s decision ensures greater flexibility when validating trust amendments and reinforces a trustor\u2019s ability to have their final wishes carried out successfully.\u00a0Higgs Fletcher &amp; Mack (HFM) Partner Roland Achtel argued the case before the Supreme Court in December of 2023.<br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/>In summary, this case is about a handwritten amendment decedent Mary Bertsch made to her trust. The amendment bequeathed millions of dollars to charity and various beneficiaries. \u00a0Ms. Bertsch did not notarize her handwritten amendment.\u00a0 The language in the trust indicates that Ms. Bertsch reserved \u201cthe right by an acknowledged instrument in writing to revoke or amend\u201d the trust.<\/p>\n<p>After Ms. Bertsch passed away, a disinherited relative challenged the amendment claiming that because the amendment wasn\u2019t notarized, it failed to comply with the trust terms and was therefore invalid.\u00a0 At the appellate level there was a split of opinion on whether a trustor must strictly follow the trust terms to modify a trust, or whether the default rule should apply.\u00a0 This case centered around whether Ms. Bertsch\u2019s amendment should stand, or if it should be invalidated because it didn\u2019t follow the technical procedure prescribed in the trust.<\/p>\n<p>In support of the Court\u2019s interpretation, Mr. Achtel argued that the intent of the law was to ensure greater flexibility. In particular, he argued that the purpose behind the law \u2013 to ensure a trustor\u2019s wishes are carried out \u2013 was paramount, and that Ms. Bertsch\u2019s handwritten amendment clearly communicated her intent.<\/p>\n<p>By its ruling, justice was served in honoring Ms. Bertsch\u2019s intent and to ensure flexibility in the future so that less than perfect amendments can be appropriately applied and respected. The Supreme Court opinion can be found here:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/protect-us.mimecast.com\/s\/sewYCYEVV7TD15kpIGk2z9?domain=bit.ly\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"14\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3SR9fEp<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A precedent-setting appellate decision regarding how revocable trusts may be modified was just affirmed by the Supreme Court of California in the case\u00a0Haggarty\u00a0v. Thornton.\u00a0Based on the Supreme Court\u2019s statutory interpretation, the Court\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"coauthors":[290],"class_list":["post-9572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-firm-articles","attorney-roland-achtel","practice-trusts-estates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Precedent-Setting Trust Amendment Decision in Haggarty v. 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