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Current as of January 01, 2023 | Updated by FindLaw Staff
1. If a settlor's marriage is dissolved or annulled, any beneficial terms of a trust in favor of the settlor's former spouse or any fiduciary appointment of the settlor's former spouse is revoked on the date the marriage is dissolved or annulled, whether or not the terms of the trust refer to marital status. The terms of the trust shall be given effect as if the former spouse had died immediately before the date the dissolution or annulment became final. This subsection shall also apply to any beneficial interest or fiduciary appointment in favor of a relative of the settlor's former spouse as if such relative were the former spouse.
2. Subsection 1 of this section does not apply to the terms of a trust that provide any beneficial interest or fiduciary appointment for a former spouse or a relative of a former spouse that was created after the marriage was dissolved or annulled, or that expressly states that marriage dissolution or annulment shall not affect the designation of a former spouse or relative of a former spouse as a beneficiary or a fiduciary of the trust.
3. A court may order or the settlor and the spouse may agree before, during, or after the marriage in a binding contract or settlement agreement that subsection 1 of this section does not apply to a beneficial interest or fiduciary appointment.
4. Any terms of a trust revoked solely by this section are revived by the settlor's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the marriage dissolution or annulment.
5. In this section, “a relative of the settlor's former spouse” means an individual who is related to the settlor's former spouse by blood, adoption or affinity and who, after the divorce or annulment, is not related to the settlor by blood, adoption or affinity.
6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any trust for which a gift tax marital deduction has been claimed or allowed under Section 2523 of the Internal Revenue Code. The provisions of this section shall not apply in a manner that would result in either:
(a) a transfer to a trust being treated as an incomplete gift for federal gift tax purposes; or
(b) inclusion of assets of a trust in the gross estate of a settlor for federal estate tax purposes.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXXI. Trusts and Estates of Decedents and Persons Under Disability § 456.1-112. Rules of construction--inapplicable to certain trusts - last updated January 01, 2023 | https://codes.findlaw.com/mo/title-xxxi-trusts-and-estates-of-decedents-and-persons-under-disability/mo-rev-st-456-1-112/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature or via Westlaw before relying on it for your legal needs.
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