Rule 7.650 Decree of distribution establishing testamentary trusts

When someone dies and leaves a will that creates a trust, the court must make some decisions before the money or property can be handed over. The court checks whether the trust is legally valid, figures out exactly what the trust is supposed to do, and then orders the property to be given to the trustee.

The court's distribution order must spell out the full terms of the trust based on what is happening at the time of distribution. For example, if the will was written years ago but some beneficiaries have since died, the order needs to reflect current reality, not just copy the old language from the will word for word.

The trust terms in the order must be written in the present tense and in the third person. So instead of quoting the will saying "I give my estate to my daughter," the order would say something like "the trustee holds the property for the benefit of the daughter."