Langer v. Pender

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court reviewed a summary judgment decision concerning whether a revocable inter vivos trust remained revocable after the death of one trustor. The court held that the trust agreement created a revocable Survivor's Trust and that the surviving trustor's revocation complied with the agreement. The court modified and affirmed the judgment, while also addressing the trust's no-contest provision.

Holdings

1. The trust agreement created a revocable Survivor's Trust upon Josephine Pender's death, and the trust remained revocable by Phillip Pender until the death of the surviving trustor.
2. Phillip Pender's revocation of the trust and transfer of the trust property to himself complied with the trust agreement.
3. The plaintiffs' action did not constitute a contest of the trust because they sought declaratory relief to enforce the trust's terms rather than to invalidate or challenge the trust.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trust agreement remained revocable by the surviving trustor after the death of the first trustor.
2. Whether Phillip Pender's revocation and transfer of trust property complied with the trust agreement.
3. Whether the Survivor's Trust was automatically funded by operation of the trust agreement without additional conveyance documents.
4. Whether the plaintiffs' declaratory action to enforce the trust constituted a contest triggering the trust's no-contest clause.

Disposition

modified_and_affirmed