Testamentary addition to trust.
1. A devise, the validity of which is determinable by the law of this state, may be made by a will to a trustee or trustees of a trust established or created by the testator, or by the testator and some other person or persons, or by some other person or persons, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, although the settlor has reserved any or all rights of ownership of the insurance contracts, if the trust is identified in the testator’s will and the terms are set forth in a written instrument other than a will, executed before or concurrently with the execution of the testator’s will, or in the valid last will of a person who has predeceased the testator, regardless of the existence, size or character of the corpus of the trust.
2. The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or both, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or after the death of the testator.
3. Unless the testator’s will provides otherwise, the property so devised:
(a) Shall not be deemed to be held under a testamentary trust of the testator but is a part of the trust to which it is given; and
(b) Must be administered and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the instrument or will setting forth the terms of the trust, including any amendments thereto made before the death of the testator, regardless of whether made before or after the execution of the testator’s will, or any modifications or amendments whenever made, which are made pursuant to the Charitable Trust Act of 1971, and, if the testator’s will so provides, including any amendments to the trust made after the death of the testator.
4. A revocation or termination of the trust before the death of the testator causes the devise to lapse.
Last modified: February 25, 2006