Quote:
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Is the trustee required to pay the income to Ward’s wife, or can he use his discretion? The income payments are required, ruled the court: The comma after “said trust” shows that only the distribution of the principal is left to the trustee’s judgment.
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I read this as saying that the court ruled that she must be paid the income, regardless of the trustee's discretion. The trustee can decide whether it is justified to, additionally, pay her from the principal.
Apparently someone was trying to claim that the "trustee's discretion" clause also applied to income payment, and therefore the trustee could decide not to pay her the income. I guessed that the trustee would be the most likely one to make that claim.
As I read it, the actual order
agrees with my interpretation. It appears that the trustee had floated the idea of not paying her the entire trust income, and she sued to get the clause clarified.