Fixing my Irrevocable Trust: Decanting

On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they discuss mechanisms we have at our disposal to “fix” an irrevocable trust. The use of decanting, which is traditionally thought of as moving all the assets of one trust to a new trust, is one such mechanism. With the adoption of the Uniform Trust Code in the majority of US States, Erin and Michael contrast the use of common law and statutory decanting, and highlight some of the requirements and issues with both approaches. For example, the situs of an irrevocable trust may need to move to a different jurisdiction. Although decanting is often relied upon to fix an irrevocable trust, there are potentially serious tax implications if not handled carefully. Fortunately, there may be other mechanisms available – stay tuned for our next episode on alternate ways to “fix” an irrevocable trust.