Powers of appointment are the lifeblood of trusts’ adaptability over time.  A power of appointment is a power one person has to designate who will take property subject to the power or what shares the takers will receive.  See Restatement (Second) of Prop. § 11.1. A trustee’s powers to allocate income among various beneficiaries or to invade the trust principal on someone’s behalf are powers of appointment. This chapter concerns powers individuals have to allocate the shares of a trust long after it was created.

 

§ 37  The Basics