Surrogate Rita Mella
Decedent Hotung established separate trusts for the benefit of his four children with Lesser being the sole trustee since the trusts' inception. These four separate, but identical, proceedings brought by the children, sought the removal of Lesser as trustee of each trust, and to compel him to account. Petitioners noted the trust indenture was amended to provide a mechanism to remove a trustee without need for a court order, contending such mechanism was complied with, and Lesser was removed. Now, the amended petitions continued to seek Lesser's removal for allegedly "serious misconduct" arguing he took excessive and unauthorized compensation from entities in which the trust had an interest. Lesser challenged the amendments to the trust and his removal, but did not object to his filing accountings for the trusts, merely to the scope of the accountings petitioners requested. The court concluded an accounting for each of the entities in which the trusts had an interest and from which Lesser received compensation was inappropriate at this time as they would involve parties not currently before the court. Yet, it stated the accounts ordered must include disclosure of the compensation Lesser or his company received from any entity in which the trusts held or hold an interest.
