Which of the following situations would make a spendthrift clause unenforceable?

A spendthrift clause in a trust is designed to protect a beneficiary's interest in the trust from creditors and to prevent the beneficiary from voluntarily transferring their interest in the trust. However, there are certain situations in which a spendthrift clause may become unenforceable.

In the context of child support obligations, a spendthrift clause is unenforceable because courts generally prioritize the needs of dependents and the enforcement of child support over the protection afforded by a spendthrift provision. When a beneficiary has child support obligations, the state can reach the trust's assets to satisfy those obligations to ensure that the beneficiary provides financial support for their children. Thus, while the spendthrift clause is intended to limit access to the trust by creditors, the law recognizes child support as a critical obligation that must be satisfied, which overrides the trust's protective measures.

This contrasts with other situations like distributing trust principal or a trustee's discretionary decisions, where the protective effects of the spendthrift clause can typically still operate normally. Similarly, a beneficiary’s voluntary assignment of interest may seem to affect the enforceability of a spendthrift clause, but in this particular instance of child support, the law clearly favors the enforcement of support obligations over the terms of the trust.