Modification of Irrevocable Trust Agreement

Listen to this article

WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: Anthony J. D’Acquisto v. Sandra LoCoco, et al.

Case No.: 2017AP145

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz and Seidl, JJ.

Focus: Modification of Irrevocable Trust Agreement

Anthony D’Acquisto appeals an order granting a motion filed by his daughters, Sandra LoCoco and Gina Pokorny, to terminate the Kathleen D’Acquisto Irrevocable Trust. It is undisputed that, under the terms of the trust agreement as originally drafted, the Trust should have terminated in 2014, when Pokorny turned forty years old. However, D’Acquisto argues the trust agreement was modified by a 2013 document entitled “Directive to Continue as Trustee,” which provided that D’Acquisto would continue to serve as trustee of the Trust for the remainder of his lifetime, or until he resigned.

We conclude the circuit court properly determined the 2013 Directive was ineffective to modify the trust agreement because it did not satisfy the statutory requirements for modification that were in effect at the time it was executed. We further conclude the 2013 Directive is not enforceable as a standalone contract. Finally, we reject D’Acquisto’s arguments that LoCoco and Pokorny are barred from challenging the 2013 Directive’s validity based on various equitable doctrines. For all of these reasons, we affirm the circuit court’s order terminating the Trust.

Full Text

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.