Court Opinion

ID: 9718901
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:37:19.748333+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:03.352331
License: Public Domain

JOHNSON, Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent. I would affirm the order of the Orphans’ Court. A settlor cannot modify, except in certain specific circumstances, an irrevocable trust. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 331 (1959). Where there is need for the appointment of a new trustee, this can be done by the court unless by its terms the trust provides otherwise. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 108 (1959). By agreeing with the appellant to appoint it as a substitute trustee, settlor attempted to do what he had no right to do. If he wished to modify the terms of the irrevocable trust he should have petitioned the court for a decree of modification or reformation. See, e.g., In re Stolzenbach’s Estate, 346 Pa. 74, 29 A.2d 6 (1942). I agree with the lower court that settlor’s attempt to modify the terms of the trust was legally ineffective, particularly as the attempted modification was made without the consent of all the interested parties. Thompson v. FitzGerald, 344 Pa. 90, 22 A.2d 658 (1941); Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 338 (1959).