Meg Lodise Discusses Depublication of a Special Needs Trust Case on the ACTEC Trust and Estate Talk Podcast

Partner Meg Lodise was a guest on the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) “Trust and Estate Talk” podcast examining the Supreme Court of California’s depublication of the Special Needs Trust case, Scott v. McDonald, and ACTEC’s role in the depublishing effort.

Scott v. McDonald was a California Court of Appeal case from the Fourth District, in which the Court upheld a surcharge against the trustee of a Special Needs Trust based on what ACTEC and others viewed to be a misunderstanding of the trust’s language regarding support for the beneficiary. ACTEC was alerted to the case by a Fellow, who sent a request to the Amicus Review Committee to write a letter in support of the effort for depublication. Upon review, Meg, who chairs, and other members of the Committee agreed that there were significant risks to practitioners in California and nationwide if the ruling were to become citable law. ACTEC thereafter submitted its letter requesting depublication due to the court’s apparent misinterpretation of the trust language based on settled law relating to Special Needs Trusts. On November 28, 2018, the Court issued its order depublishing the opinion.

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