Presumption that amendments by the settlor were properly delivered applies even though the trustee accepted the amendments after the settlor’s death

An Illinois land trust provided that amendments are valid when made by a written instrument delivered to the trustee but that any amendment changing any “duty, right, power, liability, or responsibility” of the trustee would be effective on acceptance by the trustee.  The settlor executed an amendment changing the beneficiaries on her death, but the grantor’s attorney mailed the amendment to an incorrect address causing the amendment to be cosigned by the trustee the day after the settlor’s death. 

In upholding the amendment, the court held that the amendment did not concern the trustee’s duties, that therefore there exists a presumption that the amendment had been received before the settlor’s death and that the trial court’s holding that the evidence was not sufficient to overcome the presumption was not against the weight of the evidence.  Estate of Bantsolas v. Bantsolas, 878 N.E.2d 1227 (Ill. App. Ct. 2007).