How can one challenge a trust's validity?

A challenge to a trust's validity can effectively be established by proving lack of capacity, undue influence, or improper execution. Each of these factors addresses fundamental aspects of the legal requirements necessary to create a valid trust.

Lack of capacity refers to the grantor's mental ability to understand the nature and consequences of creating a trust at the time of its execution. If the grantor did not possess the requisite mental capacity, the trust may be declared invalid.

Undue influence occurs when a person exerts excessive pressure on the grantor, compromising the grantor's ability to make independent decisions. This influences the true intentions of the grantor, which can render the trust invalid if it's shown that the grantor was manipulated into creating or changing the trust based on this coercion.

Improper execution involves failing to meet the legal formalities required to establish a trust, such as not having the trust document properly signed and witnessed, if applicable. If a trust is executed in a way that does not conform to the statutory requirements, it can be challenged successfully.

In contrast, demonstrating that the trust was not properly funded addresses a different issue— that of whether the assets intended to be transferred into the trust were actually placed there, rather than the legal validity of the trust