Receipts and releases have been used as both a shield and a sword in estate proceedings when fiduciaries are confronted with claims which previously were resolved, or at least, allegedly so. Though instinctively a release is thought to provide an absolute bar to continuing litigation, the factual circumstances surrounding the procurement of the release, as well as the terms of the release itself, often drive the result.
The opinion by the Surrogate’s Court, New York County, in In re Bronner, NYLJ, Jan. 21, 2016, at p. 32, is instructive. Pending before the court was, inter alia, three contested compulsory accounting proceedings in which the respondent/trustee opposed the relief on the grounds that the petitioner/beneficiary had previously executed receipts and releases discharging him from liability. The petitioner moved for summary judgment alleging, in part, that the releases were not fairly obtained from her, due to allegedly inadequate disclosure and an explanation of the transaction by the trustee.
