Opinion ID: 1927641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Duties imposed by the trust instrument, extrinsic evidence, or practical construction.

Text: Charles and Elizabeth Arms, intervening certificate holders, [7] and the trial court have looked to the trust instrument, considered extrinsic evidence of the settlor's intent, and applied practical construction to impose a duty to exercise the power of sale for the sole benefit of certificate holders. Burlington Northern challenges the propriety of relying upon extrinsic evidence, disputes the alleged practical construction, and relies upon the trust instrument and this court's prior opinion to argue that finding a duty to convert trust assets would be inconsistent with our former opinion. We hold that the trustees' powers of sale and distribution under trust paragraphs 4 and 9 are discretionary, and no duty to exercise or refrain from exercising those powers is created by the trust instrument, extrinsic evidence, nor any practical construction.