In re Trust of Stuchell
Oregon Court of Appeals
801 P.2d 852 (1990)
J.W. Stuchell's testamentary trust was set to distribute assets outright, in equal shares, to his daughter Edna's (plaintiff) four children once the last life beneficiary died; because Edna's mentally disabled adult son John relied on public assistance and an outright distribution would disqualify him, the beneficiaries agreed the trust should instead continue for John if he survived the life beneficiaries, and Edna asked the court to approve that modification under the deviation doctrine of Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 167, arguing circumstances unknown to the settlor now made strict compliance inconsistent with the trust's purpose.
Will an agreement between trust beneficiaries to modify the terms of the trust be enforced if the primary purpose of the modification is to make the trust more advantageous to those beneficiaries and there are no unanticipated circumstances that make compliance with the terms of the trust contrary to the trust purpose?