Phoenix, AZ estate planning attorney Mark A. Bregman talks about a big case he tried. He notes that In re Pilafas, decided in the early 1990s, has become one of the most frequently cited cases in Arizona probate law because it addressed several issues that commonly arise in estate administration. In that case, the decedent owned valuable property, including mobile home parks, titled in the name of a trust, but the original trust document could not be located.

Family members argued that the trust should be treated like a will, asserting that if the trust was last seen in the testator’s possession and could not be found, it should be presumed destroyed—meaning the decedent died intestate as to those assets. The court, however, held that it was sufficient to prove the terms of the trust. Because the real estate was clearly held in trust, the trust’s provisions could still be enforced.

He emphasizes the practical lesson of the case: if a grantor does not want a trust to be enforced, the property must be removed from the trust before the trust is destroyed.