Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Date unavailable
Rebecca Lynn Larson, Et al. vs. Alvin Winkler Et al.; Kevin Goucher and Alisa Goucher
Kevin and Alisa Goucher appealed an interlocutory judgment concerning the Mary Ellen Brown Revocable Trust. The trial court held that Kevin Goucher's contingent beneficiary interest in a deceased relative's share divested because the Trust's asset (a farm) was not sold within a "reasonable period of time" after the primary beneficiary turned sixty-five, causing the primary beneficiary's interest to vest. The appellate court reversed, finding the trial court erroneously interpreted the Trust's plain language. It held that Goucher's contingent interest vested upon the primary beneficiary's death without issue and before the farm's distribution, and directed the Trustee to distribute the share to Goucher.