Can an incompetent beneficiary, properly represented by an attorney of her choice, terminate the trust?

Nova Scotia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Drescher v. Drescher Estate, 2007 NSSC 352 (CanLII):

Neither counsel for the proponents of this application have been able to find a case authority which directly answers this question. They acknowledge that for this court to now so hold would represent an extension of the rule in Saunders v. Vautier in that the classic statement of the rule includes the caveat that the beneficiary is not under any disability. Counsel therefore framed their arguments on logic and principle, posing the question of why, as a matter of public policy, an incompetent beneficiary, properly represented by an attorney of her choice, should be prevented from so exercising this power to terminate the trust.

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