National Foundation for Special Needs Integrity, Inc. v. Reese

Hamilton, Circuit Judge •

In' this case, we apply Indiana law to a trust agreement to determine who receives the remainder funds upon the beneficiary’s death. Plaintiff National Foundation for Special Needs Integrity signed an agreement with Theresa Givens ■ establishing a trust that the Foundation was to manage for her benefit while she lived. In the agreement, ■ Givens named herself as the only contingent remainder beneficiary. Givens died just a month after funding the trust, leaving more than $234,000 in the trust.

By naming herself, Givens failed to specify a surviving remainder…