Surrogate Edward McCarty III
Petitioner moved for an extension of time to file a renunciation under Estates Powers and Trusts Law §2-1.11. Decedent was survived by his wife and three children, including petitioner, who was a minor at the time of his father's death. Decedent's will divided his estate into two shares, including the GST Exemption Share, which was to be held in trust for the benefit of his spouse and upon her death, the principal divided into equal shares for all living children and held in continuing trust. As a result of a general power of appointment, the property in the continuing trust for petitioner's benefit would be included in his estate for estate tax purposes. Petitioner argued the inclusion of a general power of appointment was contrary to decedent's intent to create a trust that ultimately would pass to his grandchildren free of estate taxes. The court noted the requirements for a qualified disclaimer under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) were incongruent with §2-1.11, which did not extend the permissible 9 months' period for renunciation where the person seeking to disclaim did not yet reach age 21. Hence, he sought a judicial extension, and the court found petitioner established a reasonable cause, granting the application to extend the time to file the renunciation for 30 days.
