MTA § 14.5-411 tracks UTC § 412. Both permit modification (and termination) if, because of circumstances unanticipated by the settlor, the change is necessary to further the purpose of the trust. Classically, under the doctrine of equitable deviation, a court could “authorize an invasion or deviation from the terms of a trust in unforeseen circumstances not contemplated by the trustor is rightly exercised only in matters of (trust) administration”. Staley v. Ligon, 239 Md. 61, 69, 239 A.2d 384, 388 (1965). In Staley, for example, the court approved a very limited deviation to permit limited borrowing to improve real estate which was the asset of the trust. The court was careful, however, not to act in a way to essentially vary the beneficial interests of the life tenant and the remainder interests.
The UTC comment highlights that the statutory provision broadens the equity court’s ability to apply deviation to modify dispositive as well as administrative provisions of a trust: “For example, modification of the dispositive provisions to increase support of a beneficiary might be appropriate if the beneficiary has become unable to provide for support due to poor health or serious injury.” Such a modification would not be permitted under the classic understanding of equitable deviation as illustrated by the Staley court.
