Appellate Law

De Novo Review Standard For Validity of Trust Document

By Steven R. Merican

Back from the DL. Let?s catch up.

Answering a question of first impression, the Illinois Supreme Court established the standard of review ?on the question of whether a provision in a trust document or will is void as a matter of public policy.? The court ruled that a de novo standard applied.

?It is clear, however, that such findings are subject to de novo review, because public policy is necessarily a question of law ? This conclusion is consistent with the well-established principle that whether a provision in a contract, insurance policy, or other agreement is invalid because it violates public policy is a question of law, which we review de novo.?

The whole case, Estate of Feinberg, No. 105982 (9/24/09), is available right here.

Full post as published by Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog on April 19, 2010 (boomark / email).