Opinion ID: 4368550
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Rude family and estate plan

Text: Kenneth O. (known as Olin) and Edna L. Rude had two daughters, Gayle Bjorn-Roli and Patricia Mulligan. Gayle has three children: Per Erik Bjorn-Roli, Maiken Erickson, and Kjersti Walker. Patricia has two children: Patrick Mulligan and Erin Barber. Olin and Edna executed declarations of trust in 2000 (the KOR and ELR trusts). The trusts were nearly identical, providing that upon the first spouse’s death, that spouse’s assets would be split into new trusts: a marital trust for the lifetime benefit of the surviving spouse and a family trust. Upon the second spouse’s death, the trusts’ assets would be reduced by specific gifts and the remaining assets distributed evenly between individual trusts for Gayle and Patricia. The KOR and ELR trusts designated Olin and Edna as successor trustees for the other’s trust, and Gayle and Patricia as successor trustees if the trustee predeceased the grantor-spouse or became incapacitated. Gayle and Patricia were to be successor trustees “for only as long as it takes to liquidate trust assets and divide and distribute the trust estate”; Gayle and Patricia each would be sole trustee of their individual trusts after distribution of the family trusts. The KOR and ELR trusts also -2- 7336 instructed that “all non-liquid trust assets be sold as soon as reasonably possible after Grantor’s death” and that “there be no common ownership of assets between the trusts created for” Gayle and Patricia. Olin and Edna amended their trusts a few days later. The amendments added property near Lake Louise as a specific gift to Patricia and allowed her to elect to take property at Bootlegger’s Cove as part of her trust share. The amendments also made Patricia sole successor trustee of the KOR and ELR trusts upon the surviving spouse’s death. The amendments further removed Gayle as trustee of her individual trust and substituted a bank. The amendments lastly made a trustee removable “only . . . in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Alaska.” Olin amended the KOR trust a final time in 2007, a few months after Edna’s death. The amendment made Patricia co-trustee of the KOR trust with Olin during his lifetime. The amendment also removed the provision instructing that all assets be liquidated, instead granting Patricia “full and sole authority and power to determine what assets of the trust are to be retained and what assets are to be sold.”