McINDOE
McINDOE v. OLIVOS
Opinion
Opinion
McINTYRE, J.
In this case we conclude that a proposed contest to the validity of amendments to a trust would not violate the no contest clause of an exempt portion of the trust.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 1981, Byron and Muriel Grimm created a living trust (the original trust), naming their children, Carol L. McIndoe and Sharon Olivos, each as a 40 percent beneficiary, with the remaining 20 percent split between the trustors’ grandchildren. During their joint lifetime, the trustors could amend any terms of the original trust. Upon the death of a trustor, the original trust was to be divided into a survivor’s trust that could be amended or revoked and an exempt trust that could not be amended or revoked. The survivor’s trust included the surviving spouse’s separate property, the surviving spouse’s interest in the trustors’ community property, and the minimum dollar amount necessary to eliminate any federal estate tax on the death of the first trustor. The exempt trust consisted of the balance of the estate. The original trust included a no contest clause specifying that if any beneficiary contested the trust, the individual would be disinherited.