Dubious Decanting of Grandchildren's Trusts

A potential advantage of decanting, where authorized by state law, is that it may permit a trustee to modify a trust without the consent of the grantor and the beneficiaries or the time, expense, uncertainty, and publicity associated with obtaining court approval of the modification.

          – Michael J. Skeary, "The Power of Trust Decanting"

A wealthy grandmother celebrated the birth of her grandchildren by funding a generation-skipping trust for each new arrival. She served as trustee, with Merrill Lynch as custodian.

When grandmother resigned as trustee because of age, the children's father took over. Decades later, when the grandchildren learned they were old enough to draw upon their trust funds, they found their mother had been named co-trustee. And, according to the childrens' lawsuit, she had moved trust assets into a new trust that entitled her “to all net income and as much principal from the trust property as the trustee determines is necessary.”

For other wealthy grandparents the moral is obvious: Naming a reputable bank or trust company is  worth the trustee fees.