Generally speaking, you lose control over any assets that are placed in an irrevocable trust. This is because you are not allowed to serve as the trustee, and the terms of such a document are tough to change. However, it may be possible to challenge the validity of an irrevocable trust in an Arizona courtroom.
Are you an heir or beneficiary?
In most cases, you must be an heir or beneficiary to assets held by the trust to have standing to challenge it. It may be possible to mount a legal challenge if you think you should be named an heir or beneficiary to assets held outside of a family member’s estate. An estate planning attorney may provide more insight into the rights that you might have as it relates to inheriting property from a parent or grandparent.
What are the grounds to challenge this type of trust?
Challenging a trust is similar to challenging a will in that you have to prove the document doesn’t reflect the true wishes of its creator. For instance, it might be possible to have the document invalidated on the basis that the person who wrote it did so under duress. You might also claim that the trust was written by someone who didn’t have the mental capacity to understand what he or she was doing.
An irrevocable trust may be dissolved voluntarily
In some states, such a trust may be dissolved with the consent of the beneficiaries. It may also be possible to change the terms of a trust through a process called decanting. The decanting process allows the parties to create a new trust that invalidates the existing one.
If you have questions about a family member’s estate plan structure, you may want to talk to an attorney. He or she may be able to provide more insight into whether you should challenge a will, trust or other documents. Furthermore, a legal adviser may represent your interests if you follow through with the challenge.