Surrogate Edward McCarty III
Trustee moved to renew a prior discovery motion, and upon same, directing objectants, decedent’s granddaughters, to provide disclosure of personal investment portfolios. Decedent created a testamentary trust for the lifetime benefit of his son Orin. After Orin’s death, the trust terminated and was divided 13 months after termination in three equal shares. The trustee filed an account and objectants claimed mismanagement of trust assets, among other things. The court previously denied trustee’s motion to compel the beneficiaries to produce the portfolios. Trustee argued renewal should be granted, relying on Matter of Lasdon, which was recently modified in part by the Appellate Division, which eliminated a surcharge and interest imposed on the trustees by the lower court, finding the beneficiaries failed to show such imposition was warranted. Counsel claimed such modification provided a change or clarification in law making the information sought by the trustee here relevant, thus discoverable. This court found Lasdon was not a change in law impacting on the earlier decision of this court, which found a trustee could not discover the personal records of beneficiaries in an effort to offset a potential surcharge, denying the motion.
