Justice F. Dana Winslow
Applicants sought to reform a 1991 irrevocable trust of decedent Leondis nunc pro tunc or retroactively, and for the court to approve the same terms and conditions as Leondis’ irrevocable life insurance trust drafted in 2011. Plaintiff alleged mistakes were made by the drafter of the 1991 trust that must be modified. The writer attested to making certain omissions unintentionally in the 1991 trust. The court noted all interested parties consented to the reformation of the 1991 trust. It also noted there were three mistakes that the scrivener of the 1991 trust swore that he made affecting the stated wishes of the settlors. The court found the sworn statements credible and consistent with the mistakes articulated in submissions to the court. It further found the reformations reflected in the 2011 trust did not affect the 1991 provisions. As such, it concluded that based on the circumstances the 2011 changes could be made retroactive to the 1991 trust, stating as the mistakes were made for which the parties mentioned in the trust were not responsible, they should not be held accountable for matters they neither knew nor could have appreciated. Hence, the petition was granted.
