Revocable Trust Wins at US Supreme Court !
It’s not everyday that a revocable trust defeats the US in a trust lawsuit which makes its way to the US Supreme Court. Palm Beach Trust litigators take note. This one did. (For that matter, Palm Beach trust beneficiaries: take note, too. ) After years of trust litigation and multiple appeals, this Revocable Trust prevailed in a trust lawsuit over property rights. Trust beneficiaries involved in land disputes or Florida real estate litigation may find this case interesting: Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. US, decided March 10, 2014. In Palm Beach and Stuart, Florida a lot of Florida real estate is transferred to a Florida Revocable Trust.
US Sues Revocable Trust Over Real Estate
The United States filed a quiet title action in 2006 against several landowners to resolve ownership of some real estate supposedly abandoned. One of the issues was whether an old right of way had been abandoned by a railroad. The revocable trust was one of the landowners claiming its rights. It lost the trust lawsuit in federal court and when the trust appealed, it lost again. Until it went to the US Supreme Court. . The Supreme Court, held that railroad’s right of way was a simple easement that terminated upon abandonment. The trust wins.
Sawmill Worker Creates Revocable Trust
- Melvin M. Brandt worked at a sawmill in Fox Park, Wyoming, in 1939
- He purchased the sawmill and then his son was working there
- In 1976, the United States patented an 83-acre parcel of land to Melvin and his wife
- But the patent did include limited exceptions and reservations. And it was subject to certain potential rights of a railway.
- In 2006 the United States filed this lawsuit.
- The Government resolved its issues with all the landowners- except the Revocable Trust
Land Transferred to Revocable Trust
The Trust fought the US in court. Marvin had transferred the land to a family trust. And he won. Palm Beach trust litigators know that Florida trust lawsuits can sometimes take time and it can be a long road to justice. But Marvin’s trust was in this case for 8 years!