Wilmington Trust Co. v. Wilmington Trust Co.
Delaware Supreme Court
26 Del. Ch. 397, 24 A.2d 309, 139 A.L.R. 1117 (1942)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
William Donner created a trust to pay income to his family members. The trust also gave each of Donner’s children a power of appointment over a part of the trust. The trust was created in New York, which was also where Donner and the trustee were domiciled. Thereafter, a Delaware trust company was named as a successor trustee. Years later, one of the Donner children, Joseph W. Donner, exercised his power of appointment and set up additional trusts to benefit Joseph’s two children. Those trusts were valid under Delaware law but invalid under the New York rules against perpetuities. A Delaware court of chancery upheld the validity of Joseph’s exercise of his power of appointment that created the additional trusts. That decision was appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Layton, C. J.)
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