Carnahan Trust

27 Pa. D. & C.2d 744, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Allegheny County
DecidedApril 11, 1962
Docketno. 1185 B-1 of 1939
StatusPublished

This text of 27 Pa. D. & C.2d 744 (Carnahan Trust) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Allegheny County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carnahan Trust, 27 Pa. D. & C.2d 744, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1962).

Opinion

Boyle, P. J.,

Where a trustee for charitable purposes agreed with testator in 1932, for compensation at the rate of two percent of the income of the trust, may the court allow the request of the trustee that its future compensation be increased to five percent of income beginning on March 3, 1961, for the reasons that the principal has increased greatly, the annual income of the trust has more than doubled since 1939, the duties and costs of administration have multiplied and the compensation of the trustee is inadequate to pay for the costs, expenses and services involved in the administration, management and maintenance of the trust?

This application is made at the audit of the first and partial account of Mellon National Bank and Trust Company, successor testamentary trustee to Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh. Notice of the filing of the account, the audit, and of the trustee’s application for increased future compensation was given to the attorney general of Pennsylvania who has entered an appearance and filed a brief.

William E. Carnahan died March 1, 1939, leaving a last will and testament dated February 16, 1937, [746]*746and three codicils thereto dated June 13, 1937, May 21,1938, and January 16,1939.

Under paragraph 18 and subparagraph (a) thereto, testator provided as follows:

“EIGHTEENTH: All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, real, personal and mixed, wheresoever situate, of which I may die seized or possessed or to which I may be entitled at the time of my decease, I give, devise and bequeath to THE UNION TRUST COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, IN TRUST, NEVERTHELESS, for the following uses and purposes, to-wit:
“ (a) To hold the three-fifths (3/5th’s) part thereof, together with any additions which may from time to time be made thereto by the terms of this my Last Will and Testament; To collect the income arising therefrom and, less the expenses incident to the management of the trust and a reasonable compensation to the Trustee, to pay over the income, annually, to such charitable, religious or educational organizations or institutions in the United States, and in such manner and in such proportions, as my sister, ELLA MAY CARNAHAN, my nephew, FREDERICK C. McKEE and the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the Board of Directors of The Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh, and the survivors and survivor thereof, shall annually determine: PROVIDED, however, that my said sister and nephew, and the survivor of them, may direct the use of a portion of the said income to alleviate distress of any of my blood relatives in the Schmertz and Carnahan families who may at the time such direction is made be in need of financial assistance.
“This trust shall be known as the MELISSA S. McKEE CARNAHAN TRUST.”

Pursuant to advance distributions and a decree of distribution entered at the filing of the first and final [747]*747account of the executor, the trustee received cash and securities having a value of $633,035. Testator’s sister died January 30, 1950, and thereafter the trustee received cash and securities having an inventory value of $50,274, which had previously been held in trust under the provisions of paragraph four of testator’s will.

Testator’s nephew, Frederick C. McKee, died March 3, 1961, and, accordingly, the trustee has now filed its first and partial account.

Mr. Carroll P. Davis, a vice president and trust officer of the trustee, wrote to testator on March 21, 1932, as follows:

“We are pleased to be informed of our appointment as Executor and Trustee under your Last Will and Testament, and in reply beg leave to advise that we will accept the appointment, administer the estate and execute the trusts in accordance with your wishes and directions, for a compensation of two (2) per cent, except that as Trustee no charge is to be made on the corpus, and the maximum charge on income is to be two (2) per cent, payable at the time other income is disbursed or invested.”

Mr. Clarence Stanley, president of the trustee, confirmed this arrangement in a letter dated March 12, 1937, to testator.

At the audit of the account, the vice president of the trustee in charge of the administrative division of the trust department, testified that from the beginning of the trust, it has realized net profits of $234,460, and, in addition, as of September 5, 1961, has unrealized net profits of $330,800. Therefore, the value of the trust estate has grown from $683,309 to $1,248,567 during the period that it has been administered by the trustee.

The testimony shows that the income received by the trust in 1941 was approximately $19,000, and had increased to $31,000 in 1951. In 1955, the income had [748]*748increased to $37,400 and, in 1960, to $40,900. As a result of recent changes in investments, the projected annual gross income of the trust as of September 30, 1961, is $43,870. Even considering the $50,000 addition to the trust in 1950, the income of the trust has more than doubled during the period of administration and has increased 40 percent in the last ten years.

The testimony establishes that both administrative and investment duties have greatly increased in amount and complexity since the death of testator. All trusts are now reviewed thoroughly at least annually by a trust investment committee, of which seven senior officers of the trustee are members, and at meetings which other personnel attend for presentation and record-keeping purposes. Trusts of this size also receive briefer reviews about every three months. In addition to the general reviews of the entire investment portfolio, investment committee action is required to determine the disposition to be made of proceeds received on redemptions, the exercise or sale of stock rights, and the elections to be made on exchange of assets. Within the last three year period, 95 such decisions involving discretion had to be made by the trustee.

In addition to the investment decisions involving discretion, the trustee is required annually to clip and process approximately 882 bond coupons and to deposit and record approximately 168 dividend checks.

The testimony shows that in the last three year period the correspondence file indicated the receipt of 172 letters and the dispatch of 179. The initial responsibility for administration of this trust was placed in a trust officer who, when he had a discretionary decision to make, referred the action to the trust administrative committee for review and decision.

With respect to the payment of income to charitable institutions, the record shows it is necessary for the trust administrative committee to prepare a memoran[749]*749dum for consideration and action by the executive committee of the board of directors.

The trustee also prepares and files income tax returns with the appropriate authorities. In connection with the preparation of the first and partial account, 275 hours were spent in compiling the account containing 88 pages.

With respect to a charitable trust which endures perpetually and concerning which no agreement relative to compensation has been made between the creator of the trust and the trustee, the testimony is that in lieu of a principal charge there is an alternative charge of seven and one-half percent of income.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
27 Pa. D. & C.2d 744, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carnahan-trust-paorphctallegh-1962.