Rush Univ. Med. Ctr. v. Sessions

In 1994 Sessions created a trust for his personal benefit, with a "spendthrift" provision prohibiting use of trust assets to pay creditors. In 1995, he irrevocably promised $1.5 million to Rush Medical Center for a building and provided for it in his will. The building, now in operation, bears his name. Sessions later blamed Rush for not diagnosing sooner the cancer of which he died in 2005, without having paid the pledge. Six weeks before his death, he executed a new will making no provision for the pledge. Rush filed a successful probate claim, but estate assets were insufficient to fulfill the pledge. Rush filed a supplemental proceeding to reach assets in the 1994 trust, worth almost $19 million in 2005. The trial court entered summary judgment for Rush; the appellate court reversed, based on the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed, reinstating the award. At common law, a person cannot settle his estate in trust for his own benefit so as to be free from liability for his debts. The fact that the Act specifies certain instances in which transfers can be considered fraudulent does not mean that the statute abrogates the common law rule. View "Rush Univ. Med. Ctr. v. Sessions" on Justia Law