Heggstad v. Heggstad

In response to respondent’s petition for order instructing trustee, the probate court decreed that the decedent’s undivided 34.78 percent interest in property identified as 100 Independence Drive, Menlo Park, San Mateo County, was vested in Glen P. Heggstad, as successor trustee of the Heggstad Family Trust, and was not part of the decedent’s estate. We hold that the settlor’s written declaration stating that he holds this property as trustee was sufficient to create a revocable living trust, and we affirm the probate court’s order.

Facts

On May 10, 1989, decedent Halvard L. Heggstad executed a will naming his son, respondent Glen P. Heggstad, as executor. Concurrently, the decedent executed a valid revocable living trust, naming himself as the trustee and his son Glen, the successor trustee (hereafter the Heggstad Family Trust). All the trust property was identified in a document titled schedule A, which was attached to the trust document. The property at issue was listed as item No. 5 on schedule A, and was mislabeled as “Partnership interest in 100 Independence Drive, Menlo Park, California.”

In truth, decedent had an undivided 34.78 percent interest in that…