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statutetrustwilldivorce
trustwilldivorce

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Clymer v. Mayo, 393 Mass. 754, 473 N.E.2d 1084

Facts

Clara A. Mayo was married to James P. Mayo, Jr. from 1953 until their divorce in 1978. During their marriage, Clara executed a will and established a trust, naming James as the principal beneficiary. After their divorce, Clara changed her life insurance beneficiaries and executed a new will favoring her trust. Upon her death in 1981, her parents sought to challenge the trust and the administrator's actions, arguing that the divorce revoked all gifts to James.

At the time of her death in November, 1981, the decedent, then fifty years of age, was employed by Boston University as a professor of psychology. She was married to James P. Mayo, Jr. (Mayo), from 1953 to 1978. The couple had no children. The decedent was an only child and her sole heirs at law are her parents, Joseph A. and Maria Weiss.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether the divorce revoked the decedent's testamentary dispositions to her former husband, whether the pour-over trust was valid despite not being funded until her death, and whether the decedent's parents had standing to remove the estate's administrator.

What is primarily at issue in these actions is the effect of the Mayos' divorce upon dispositions provided in the decedent's will and indenture of trust.

Rule

The court applied the principle that a divorce revokes any testamentary disposition made to a former spouse, as per G.L. c. 191, § 9, and upheld the validity of pour-over trusts under G.L. c. 203, § 3B, which allows for trusts to be valid even if unfunded at the time of the testator's death.

The judge ruled that Mayo's interest in Trust B is unaffected by G.L. c. 191, § 9, because his interest in that trust is not derived from a 'disposition … made by the will' but rather from the execution of an inter vivos trust with independent legal significance.

Analysis

The court found that the pour-over trust was valid despite being unfunded at the time of Clara's death, as it met the statutory requirements. It ruled that the divorce statute applied to revoke James's interests in Trust A but not in Trust B, as the latter was established with independent legal significance. The court also determined that Clara's parents lacked standing to challenge the administrator's actions since they were not beneficiaries under the valid trust.

The judge found that the pour-over trust was valid despite being unfunded at the time of Clara's death, as it met the statutory requirements.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the validity of the pour-over trust, ruled that the divorce revoked James's interest in Trust A, but upheld his interest in Trust B. The court also dismissed the parents' petition to remove the administrator, concluding they lacked standing.

For the reasons to follow we affirm the judge's conclusions that: (1) the decedent established a valid trust under G.L. c. 203, § 3B; (2) Mayo's interest in Trust A was terminated as a result of the divorce; (3) the Chamberlains and Hinman are entitled to take as intended beneficiaries under Trust B, with the remainder interest to be divided equally between Clark University and Boston University; and (4) the Weisses lack standing to petition for removal of the estate's administrator.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the estate and the administrator, as the court upheld the validity of the trust and dismissed the parents' claims for removal of the administrator.

The court affirmed the validity of the pour-over trust, ruled that the divorce revoked James's interest in Trust A, but upheld his interest in Trust B.

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