In re the James C. Atkinson Clifford Trust

By this appeal we review the district court’s judgment in favor of the income beneficiary, Catherine Elizabeth Atkinson West (Catherine), of the Clifford Trust established by Dr. and Mrs. James Atkinson. Catherine is the daughter of Walter, the Atkinson’s son, and Betty Higdon. In 1978, Dr. and Mrs. Atkinson established a Clifford Trust and named three income beneficiaries: their two grandchildren, Catherine and Elizabeth,1 and their unmarried son, William. The Atkinsons were both settlors and named trustees of the Clifford Trust.2 The Trust was “absolutely irrevocable” and the Atkinsons…