Heaps v. Heaps

George and Barbara Heaps created a revocable trust that would become irrevocable when one of them died, and which allowed the trustee to hold trust assets either in the trustee's own name, in the trustee's individual name without mentioning the trust, or in someone else's name as nominee. They placed their home into the trust and later sold it, taking back a promissory note and deed of trust titled in both their individual names as joint tenants rather than in the trust's name. After Barbara died, George remarried (to Mary Ann), and the couple created a new trust into which George placed his interest in the residence proceeds and the deed of trust from the earlier sale. The trial court ruled that Mary Ann had to turn those trust assets over to George's children from his marriage to Barbara.