"Mile-High Hopes, Ground-Level Problems: When Decantings Get Rocky," American College of Trust and Estate Counsel's (ACTEC) 2026 Fall Meeting, October 17, 2026

Day Pitney Partner Ann Hetherwick “Hether” Cahill spoke during the Fiduciary Litigation Committee meeting at the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel’s (ACTEC) 2026 Fall Meeting in Denver on October 17, 2026.
 
Hether joined Cynthia G. Lamar-Hart, Eric W. Penzer, Geraldine A. Wyle and Scott E. Swenson for “Mile-High Hopes, Ground-Level Problems: When Decantings Get Rocky,” a presentation by the committee’s Construction, Instruction & Reformation subcommittee. The panel reviewed the fundamentals of trust decanting, with an emphasis on fiduciary duties, and discussed cases from several jurisdictions involving challenges to trustees’ exercise of decanting authority.
 
Hether addressed the Massachusetts decisions Morse v. Kraft and Ferri v. Powell-Ferri, which examine how trust terms and settlor intent bear on a trustee’s authority to transfer assets to a new trust.