Inderieden v. Downs

The plaintiffs are the trustee and settlors of the Hugh M. and Ruth S. Downs Irrevocable Trust. They commenced this action in the Probate and Family Court seeking to reform the trust in order to permit the trustee to divide the trust into two or more subtrusts, for the purpose of minimizing the consequences of the generation skipping transfer tax.4 It would be a relatively innocuous change — a type we have allowed on many occasions in the past. It would “neither change[] the identity of any beneficiary nor alter[] any beneficial interest.” BankBoston v. Marlow, 428 Mass. 283, 286 (1998). It…