Vanier

FACTS

I.

THE TRUST

In April 1992, Harold W. Redman (Harold) and his wife, Stephanie F. Redman (Stephanie), as settlors, trustors, and trustees, created the Trust.2 When the Trust was created, Harold and Stephanie had two living

1 Because some of the relevant individuals share a surname, we refer to some individuals by their first names to avoid confusion.

2 The facts in this section are taken from the Petition and the exhibits attached thereto.

2 children, Cheryl Ann Russell (Cheryl) and Linda Sue Vanier (Linda). During the joint lifetimes of Harold and Stephanie, the Trust assets were to be used, in part, to maintain their accustomed manner of living. Under the terms of the Trust, upon the death of either Harold or Stephanie, the Trust’s assets were to be divided into two trusts, the Survivor’s Trust and the Residual Trust, with the surviving spouse continuing as trustee. The Survivor’s Trust was to consist of the surviving spouse’s interest in the trustors’ community property, the surviving spouse’s separate property, and an amount computed in specified ways to avoid federal estate tax. The Residual Trust was to consist of the balance of the trust estate and would be…