Opinion ID: 1284856
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Is a revocable life insurance trust inter vivos or testamentary?

Text: Unless the trust can be characterized as testamentary, appellant's contentions that it can be revoked without notice and that it was impliedly revoked by the settlor's subsequent divorce and remarriage must fail. Appellant cites no authority for the proposition that a revocable life insurance trust is testamentary, even when the trust instrument is executed contemporaneously with a will. Thus, if the trust was inter vivos, much of the force of appellant's argument is lost. In Minnesota, as in the overwhelming majority of jurisdictions, [2] a revocable life insurance trust is not testamentary, even though the settlor reserves the right to revoke or otherwise change it. In re Estate of Soper, 196 Minn. 60, 65, 264 N.W. 427, 430 (1935). The only argument which appellant raises is that the trust would have no funds and would thus not operate or take effect until the death of the testator and is thus similar to other testamentary dispositions. She does not address the authorities or case law and advances no reasons for this court to change well settled trust law. Further, the appellant notes that Minn.St. 525.223, the Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act, appears to treat such trusts as non-testamentary. This statute allows the creation of pour over trusts and allows certain estate assets to be put into trusts which might otherwise fail because of lack of testamentary formalities. Thus, the trust was in force and there was a trustee appointed and acting at the time the new will of Mr. Aughenbaugh was executed in October, 1973.