Appellant, Ann Norton DeLoach, is the primary beneficiary of the Ann Norton DeLoach Trust which was created by her husband,
In September, 1974 Mr. and Mrs. DeLoach were divorced; in August, 1977 they were again married to each other. Payments were made to Mrs. DeLoach pursuant to the Trust Agreement during the first marriage, during the time between the divorce and second marriage, and thereafter. A second divorce action was filed in September, 1979.
One of the secondary beneficiaries of the trust, Mr. Frank DeLoach III, questioned the propriety of further payments to Mrs. DeLoach following her second marriage to DeLoach. The Trustee, Charles B. Miller, interrupted payments to Mrs. DeLoach and filed a petition for declaratory judgment seeking a ruling construing the quoted provision of the Trust Agreement and a determination of the respective rights of the beneficiaries.
After a hearing on the matter, the trial court found that Mrs. DeLoach’s second marriage to Mr. DeLoach was such a “remarriage” as terminated her right to benefits under the trust, and ordered distribution of the trust funds to the secondary beneficiaries. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in interpreting “remarriage,” in the context of the trust instrument, to apply to Mrs. DeLoach’s second marriage to the creator of the Trust. We reverse.
In construing a trust instrument it is the duty of a court to find the intention of the settlor and to effectuate that intention insofar as the language used and the rules of law will permit. Love v. Fulton Nat. Bank,
We agree with the trial court that the creator of the trust intended for Mrs. DeLoach to receive payments under the trust
This interpretation of “remarriage” is consistent with Georgia law. Elder v. Hogg,
Judgment reversed.
