Samuel v. King

Plaintiff appeals from a declaratory judgment concerning the existence of, and assets subject to, a trust created by her father, Jack Peterson, for the benefit of himself and his daughters — plaintiff and her sister, who is defendant in this action. Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in relying on extrinsic evidence to conclude that certain titled assets were never a part of the trust, and also in awarding defendant prevailing party fees and costs. As explained below, we agree with plaintiff and, consequently, reverse and remand.

On May 16, 1998, Peterson executed an instrument titled…