Surrogate Nora Anderson
Special referee Levine issued two reports. One addressed petitions of the children—Gregory, Jeffrey and Tres—separately, seeking to remove their mother, Barbara, as co-trustee of their respective trusts. The second addressed Tres’ motion to discontinue his petition seeking removal of Barbara as trustee of his trust. Levine recommended the petitions seeking removal be granted. He noted repeated instances in which Barbara put her own interests before her fiduciary duty and refused to approve trust expenditures necessary to preserve and protect the trusts’ assets. Levine found Barbara unfit to continue to serve as a trustee as her documented hostility to her co-trustee and beneficiaries was of such severity it interfered with trust administration. The court accepted the findings, confirming Levine’s report. Levine recommended denial of Tres’ motion to discontinue his petition against Barbara, finding if she continued as trustee of his trust, she would be able to continue to obstruct the administration of the other trusts as many assets were owned in equal shares by the children and could not be managed separately. The court also confirmed that report.
