There are not many jurisdictions that have weighed in on the issue of whether arbitration clauses should be mandatory in trusts. In McArthur v. McArthur (March 11, 2014, A137133), a California Appellate Court held that an arbitration clause in a trust was not enforceable against a beneficiary attacking the trust documents validity. The court reasoned that the clause did not apply because the beneficiary had not received any benefit from the trust document, so future courts may find that a beneficiary can be held to the clause for claims on trust distributions once they accept the trust instrument that gave them their share.

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