Collision Between Family Law And Probate Principles Came Out In Favor Of Section 2030.
In Marriage of Wendt and Pullen, Case No. C084083 (3d Dist. Apr. 28, 2021) (published), the Third District encountered the intersection of Family Code section 2030’s need-based fees award statute with Probate Code/spendthrift provisions relating to trust administration practices (including that fees are frequently not awarded unless bad faith is demonstrated against a trustee). What happened in this case is that Mr. Pullen, the former husband of a wife who was the trust beneficiary, successfully moved to join the trust and trustee to the dissolution action based on certain child and spousal support claims. He did ask for section 2030 needs-based fees, which was denied because the family law judge believed that bad faith of the trustee was a necessary requirement. The Third District reversed, finding that section 2030 prevailed over probate principles given that no bad faith by the trustee is required to obtain 2030 fees. Beyond that, Indiana law (the choice of law for trust administration issues) and California law were not different in concluding that spendthrift trusts can be ordered to pay routine trust administration costs, including 2030 fee requests. Lower court’s 2030 fee request reversed, but the appellate court remanded to engage in the classic needs-based analysis.
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