Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

I am the trustee of an irrevocable trust. I wish to make distributions from the trust to the beneficiaries, but I understand that they should first sign a document stating that they will return the distributions should the trust require those funds in order to pay debts. Documents of this type are commonly signed by beneficiaries of estates - Would the same document that is used for this purpose for estates also serve to be used with trusts or are there particular legal aspects of trusts that necessitate a wholly different form be used for this purpose?


Asked on 11/08/12, 9:31 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

The standard form used for estate distributions will work just as well, with some modifications so that it makes sense in the context you're using it for. As the trustee you're entitled to hire a lawyer, and absolutely you need to have a lawyer draft the document, because in the worst case scenario if the document becomes ineffective, and the trust (and trustee) are required to repay money to the government or creditor or anyone else, you want to have the protection of the lawyer's malpractice insurance as your backup.

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Answered on 11/09/12, 7:08 am
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

I agree with Rick. A standard form of Release and Refunding Bond, used in estates, modified and revised to cover this trust, should be sufficient.

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Answered on 11/09/12, 11:15 am


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