Pollock v. Phillips

Virginia Stinson Smith and John J. Smith had a son, Charles Loraine Smith, who was incompetent. Virginia entered into a trust agreement with Emily Phillips (defendant), under which Phillips was the trustee. The trust provided that the trustee should pay the trust’s net income to John and Charles, giving the trustee sole discretion to determine the proportions and amounts. The trust agreement further provided that if at any time the beneficiaries were under legal disability, the trustee could distribute trust income for the beneficiaries’ support, maintenance, and welfare as the trustee determined necessary. Finally, the trust agreement provided that the trustee could use the trust income for the trustee’s own support and welfare, and upon termination of the trust, the trustee would receive the residue of the trust property. Virginia died, and Charles initially lived with Phillips. However, Charles’s family became concerned about Charles’s welfare and removed him from Phillips’s home. Benton Pollok (plaintiff) was then appointed Charles’s guardian. After Charles was removed from Phillips’s home, Phillips refused to make any payments for Charles’s support other than for his medical-insurance policy. Pollok filed suit seeking a declaration that the trust agreement imposed a nondiscretionary duty on Phillips to disburse funds for Charles’s support. The trial court held that Phillips had no duty to make distributions, and Pollok appealed.