Opinion ID: 1915420
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Heading: intent to modify trust agreement

Text: We must first determine whether Phillips expressed the intent to modify the trust agreement in the letter to Hartford. The parties agree that to do this, we must interpret the letter. We treat this as a question of law on which we have an obligation to reach a conclusion independent of that of the trial court. Accord Smith v. Smith, 246 Neb. 193, 517 N.W.2d 394 (1994) (interpretation of language of trust is matter of law). The rules of construction for interpreting a trust are applied when the language of the trust is not clear; but if the language clearly expresses the settlor's intent, the rules do not apply. Wahrman v. Wahrman, 243 Neb. 673, 502 N.W.2d 95 (1993). The remainder beneficiary points out that in the letter, Phillips did not expressly state that he was amending the trust agreement. The remainder beneficiary argues that this clearly shows that Phillips did not intend to amend the trust agreement. We are not persuaded by this reasoning. Neither the express terms of the trust agreement nor the law required Phillips to expressly recite that he was amending the trust agreement in order to make an amendment effective. See In re Estate of Davis, 775 A.2d 1127 (Me.2001). Further, the letter refers to the trust, suggesting that Phillips contemplated that the letter would affect the trust. At best, the language of the letter is unclear, and we thus turn to the rules of construction. The primary rule of construction for trusts is that a court must, if possible, ascertain the intention of the testator or creator. Smith v. Smith, supra . When there are two or more instruments relating to a trust, they should be construed together to carry out the settlor's intent. Estate of Taylor, 361 Pa.Super. 395, 522 A.2d 641 (1987). Here, the letter makes reference to the trust. Thus, in deciphering what Phillips intended with the letter, we consider both the original trust agreement and the letter. We conclude that Phillips' intent can be determined because the letter is inherently inconsistent with the original terms of the trust agreement. The letter ordered Hartford to increase the amount of the distributions Reiner was receiving from the annuity. The annuity formed the corpus of the trust. Thus, altering the amount of the distribution which Hartford was paying to Reiner fundamentally modified the relationship between the parties to the trust by increasing the amount Reiner was receiving at the expense of the remainder beneficiaries' interests. This shows that Phillips intended to amend the trust agreement. Cf. In re Estate of Davis, supra (holding that when second trust was inconsistent with terms of first trust, inconsistency indicated that second trust was intended to modify first trust).