How Property Was Titled Did Not Control Disposition Of Asset
December 9, 2015
by: Luke Lantta
A deed transfers a lake cottage to a revocable living trust. Title to the cottage is still in the name of that trust when the grantors die. The cottage gets distributed according to the terms of that trust, right? According to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in Simon v. Sheedy, maybe not. It depends whether someone can show that the grantors wanted the asset disposed of in another way.
Patrick and Margaret Sheedy created a revocable living trust in 1995. They deeded their lake cottage along with some other properties to that trust. Under the terms of the 1995 trust, the cottage would essentially end up being jointly owned by the Sheedys’ children. In 2004, Patrick and Margaret created another revocable trust, the terms of which were different from the 1995 trust. In particular, the cottage was to be
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