Total Return Trusts: Case Summary & Tips for Avoiding Litigation

 Margaret E.W. Sager (attorney, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) recently published her article entitled Litigation and the Total Return Test, 35 ACTEC Journal 206 (2009). 

The editor's synopsis is below:

In the years following promulgation of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the latest iteration of the Uniform Principal and Income Act, the popularity of the "total return trust" has steadily increased.  This article begins with an examination of the cases involving total return trusts that have thus far been reported.  The remainder of the article presents and analyzes several situations in which total return trust litigation may be spawned and offers practical suggestions which, if followed, may enable avoidance of such litigation.