Surrogate Edward McCarty III
In regard to a final accounting of the co-trustee of a trust created under decedent's will, the court previously requested supplemental information. The trustee submitted an affidavit stating he was unable to make a timely first distribution in 2006 as he lacked documents, and certificates of trusteeship. Yet, no explanation was offered why the distribution was not made in the ensuing years. The trustee later advised the court he could not make a timely second distribution in 2011 as he believed it would be unreasonable to do so in the middle of a pending accounting suit. The court stated the affidavit failed to provide any meaningful justification for not making either of the required distributions, but noted no objections were filed to the trustee's administration of the trust. Hence, statutory commissions were approved. Further, the court asked for additional support for the trustee's request to terminate the trust early, but stated there was no statutory basis for the granting of such relief. It found the trustee's narrative that the beneficiary was uncooperative served to highlight the potential reasons the testator placed assets in a trust rather than distribute them outright to his son. The court treated the motion for early termination as a petition for the trustee's resignation, granting the relief.
