DISTRIBUTIVE DEVIATION
distributive deviation.A trustee’s authorized or unauthorized departure from the express
distributional terms of a trust. • A trustee must apply to the court for authority to deviate from the
terms of a trust. In American law, courts rarely authorize deviation unless all the beneficiaries
consent and there is no material purpose of the settlor yet to be served. Some state statutes provide
that deviation is permitted if the court finds that deviation would effectuate the settlor’s intention,
though the modification is not expressly authorized by the trust’s provisions. The Pulitzer trust
illustrates the possibility that extraordinary circumstances not anticipated by the settlor may justify
deviation, even despite an express prohibition within the trust. Joseph Pulitzer set up a
testamentary trust with shares of World newspaper stock; his will directed that the sale of these
shares was not authorized under any circumstances. Nonetheless, the court later approved the
stock sale when given evidence that because of hemorrhaging losses, the trust’s continuation was
jeopardized. In re Pulitzer’s Estate, 249 N.Y.S. 87 (Sur. Ct. 1931). [Blacks Law 8th]