Trust Modification & Change of Situs
Date: Monday, May 13, 2013
Time: 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Location: MAC 405 Washington Avenue
Speaker: Margaret E.W. Sager, Esquire
Registration is 11:30am., Lunch is 12:00pm., Presentation is 12:15pm.
About the Talk:
There may be times when you might want to “fix” or change something about a trust in order to accomplish certain goals, or simply to modernize some of the provisions. Perhaps there is an unexpected change in facts or applicable tax laws that call for an improvement in the trust terms. For instance, maybe the trustee succession provisions should be updated, and maybe there would be a better tax outcome if the situs of the trust could be changed. With the adoption of versions of the Uniform Trust Code by many states, including Missouri, it has become easier than ever to address these issues through modification and change of situs, sometimes without court approval. But what about settlor intent? What dangers lurk behind these new opportunities? With these new laws it is a bit like the “Wild, Wild (Mid) West” out there in the trust world. We all need to be aware of these new opportunities in order to advise our trustee and beneficiary clients properly. This talk addresses trust modification and change of situs and the ways that the Uniform Trust Code can give an old and tired trust a “facelift” and maybe even a fresh new home.
Speaker Biography:
Margaret E.W. Sager, Esquire
Margaret is a shareholder of the Philadelphia and West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, firm of Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill and Sager, a law firm with a practice devoted to estate and trust law, including fiduciary litigation and related dispute resolution, guardianships, estate planning, estate and trust administration, creditor planning and charitable giving. She received her B.A., sum ma cum laude, from the University of Richmond in 1982 and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1985. Margaret was Chair of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2000, and served for many years as Chair of the Section's Rules and Practice Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel ("ACTEC"), and is a member of the Fiduciary Litigation Committee (which she chaired from 2009 — 2011) and the Professional Responsibility Committee. She previously served for several years as a member of ACTEC's Arbitration Task Force. She has completed ACTEC's "Effective Probate Mediation Training" program and serves as a mediator in fiduciary litigation matters. Margaret is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics involving estates and trusts, including, for instance, the modification and change of situs of trusts, fiduciary litigation and alternative dispute resolution, the compensation of attorneys and fiduciaries, donor charitable intent, and guardianships of incapacitated persons. 1Vlargaret teaches periodically at the Wharton. School at the University of Pennsylvania for the Executive Education program. She was selected by Worth Magazine among the "Top 100 Attorneys" nationwide practicing in the fields of trusts and estates, philanthropy, elder care and other private practice areas for 2005 - 2007, and for a number of years has been named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia Magazine, including as a "Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers."
