Language Sufficient to Establish Trustee

Joanne Miller married Dean Miller.  Four children were bore from the marriage.  In 2006 a petition for divorce was filed.  As part of the Property Settlement Agreement, Dean Miller assented to provide life insurance for the benefit of the four children until the age of majority.  The Agreement did not When Dean Miller listed his children as the beneficiary on the policy, he added the following statement on the service form: “Beneficial interests to be paid to and managed by Kristin Saunders as custodial trustee for the benefit of my minor children.”  Kristin Saunders was Dean’s sister.  This became a point of contention for Joanne Miller and she filed a complaint with the Court seeking that Kristin and her husband Henry be removed as trustee alleging that any funds were to be paid out to her directly and that she should have been the trustee.  The Court disagreed and the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision.  In response to Joanne Miller’s challenge that the language of the Property Settlement Agreement established her as trustee the Rhode Island Supreme Court specifically articulated that: ‘Here, we hold that the contractual language is not ambiguous, and that Mr. Miller did not violate paragraph twelve of the agreement by designating Mrs. Saunders “as custodial trustee for the benefit of [his] minor children” on the service request form.’  See Miller v. Saunders