A trust cannot be amended by its beneficiaries to allow for the removal and replacement of a trustee without judicial approval, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled.

In a unanimous July 19 decision in Trust Under Agreement of Edward Winslow Taylor, the justices found that a section of the Uniform Trust Act dealing with the modification of a trust does not allow changes that open the door to a trustee's removal, which is governed by a separate section of the act.

“The legislative intent with respect to the interplay between Sections 7740.1 and 7766 is clear—the scope of permissible amendments under Section 7740.1 does not extend to modifications to add a portability clause permitting beneficiaries to remove and replace a trustee at their discretion; instead, removal and replacement of a trustee is to be governed exclusively by Section 7766,” Justice Christine L. Donohue wrote for the court.