Also known as:equitable power of deviation · equitable powers to deviate · equitable deviation · deviation doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial authority permitting a court to alter administrative or dispositive provisions of a trust. The authority arises when circumstances not anticipated by the settlor have occurred and the modification will further the purposes of the trust.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Special Needs Trust Conversion
Carlos created a trust to pass restaurant properties outright to his son Miguel after his wife's death. Miguel later suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to manage the businesses. The trustee petitioned to convert the remainder into a special needs trust that would preserve the assets and protect Miguel's public benefits. The court authorized the change because Miguel's disability was unanticipated and the new structure advanced the settlor's goal of providing long-term support.
Scholarship Fund Reformation
Two scholarship trusts limited awards to Protestant boys and required public officials to administer the funds. After the restrictions were challenged as unconstitutional state action, the court considered whether to invoke equitable deviation to remove the public-official requirement. The court declined to use deviation and instead applied cy pres to replace the discriminatory terms with neutral language while preserving the educational purpose.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Restatements
Casebooks
In re Certain Scholarship Funds575 A.2d 1325 (N.H.1990)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does equitable deviation allow modification of dispositive terms or only administrative provisions?+
Modern doctrine permits courts to modify both administrative and dispositive provisions when unanticipated circumstances arise and the change furthers the trust's purposes. This expanded authority reaches alterations such as converting an outright remainder into a special needs trust.
Supporting sources
What must a trustee show to obtain modification under equitable deviation?+
The trustee must demonstrate that circumstances not anticipated by the settlor have occurred and that the proposed modification will better carry out the purposes of the trust. Courts apply this standard to both administrative changes and changes to beneficial interests.
Supporting sources
Can a court approve deviation over the objection of contingent beneficiaries?+
Yes. The doctrine focuses on whether the modification advances the settlor's purposes under unanticipated circumstances. Objections from remote or contingent beneficiaries do not prevent relief when the primary beneficiary's interests are better served.
Supporting sources
157 P.3d 888 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007)Wills Trusts and Estates
…the purpose of the settlor will be preserved through the modification. We agree and remand to the trial court to reconsider an equitable deviation in light of changed circumstances and the settlors' intent that the beneficiaries receive both medical care and general support from the trust's funds. FACTS ¶ 2 George X. Riddell and…
Trusts and Estates Trusts and Future InterestsTrusts · ModificationUBEFoundational