Minassian v. Rachins

Zaven Minassian created a revocable trust naming himself and his wife (defendant) trustees. The trust’s primary purpose was to provide for Minassian and his wife during their lifetimes. The trust also provided that if the wife survived Minassian, she would become sole trustee and enjoy absolute discretion to distribute the trust income and principal. At the wife’s death, the trust was to terminate, and the principal and any undistributed income was to be divided into trust shares for the benefit of Minassian’s children. However, the trust stated that it was not Minassian’s intent to create a common trust for the benefit of all his beneficiaries. After Minassian died, Minassian’s children (plaintiffs) challenged the wife’s spending of the trust assets. The children sued, alleging the wife breached her fiduciary duty to them by spending trust assets without consideration of the children’s interest as beneficiaries. The wife moved to dismiss the complaint, claiming that the children were not common beneficiaries of the trust. The trial court denied the motion. The wife appointed a trust protector to modify the trust and clarify that Minassian did not intend for the children to be common beneficiaries of the trust. The wife and children both moved for summary judgment on appointment of the trust protector. The trial court ruled for the children. The wife appealed.