In re the Cecilia Kincaid Gift Trust for George

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court held that an adopted child given up for adoption was not a descendant of the natural parent under the plain language of the Cecilia Kincaid Gift Trust. The Court reversed the District Court’s determination that Jennifer Fazio was entitled to a distribution and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Under the plain language of the trust, any adopted child is regarded as the lawful blood descendant of the adopting parent or parents and is not regarded as a descendant of either natural parent. Because Jennifer Fazio was adopted, she is not a descendant of George under the trust and is not entitled to a distribution.
2. Interpretation of a trust agreement is a question of law reviewed for correctness, and the words of the trust are construed in their ordinary grammatical sense absent evidence of a clear contrary intent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trust's definition of descendants includes a natural child of George Kincaid who was adopted out of George's family.
2. Whether the trust's reference to an adopted child is ambiguous or instead plainly applies to any adopted child.
3. Whether the court may add or rewrite language in the trust instrument to distinguish children adopted into the family from children adopted out of the family.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded