In re the Accounting of Maeder

69 Misc. 2d 163, 329 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2173
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 23, 1972
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 69 Misc. 2d 163 (In re the Accounting of Maeder) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Accounting of Maeder, 69 Misc. 2d 163, 329 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2173 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1972).

Opinion

George Beisheim, Jr., J.

On September 19, 1963, Marie H. Maeder created an inter vivos trust naming her son, John Maeder, income beneficiary and individual trustee, and the Chase Manhattan Bank, now the Chase Manhattan Bank, National Association, as corporate trustee, and conveyed to said trustees certain property described in a schedule annexed to the indenture of trust. The trustees were to hold the principal of said trust during the life of said John Maeder, [165]*165and upon Ms death (subject to a power of appointment in John Maeder which, for the purposes of the matter before the court, may be disregarded) transfer the said principal to the descendants • of the said John Maeder, if any, then living, or if he shall have died leaving no descendants surviving him, the trustees shall transfer and add said principal to another inter vivos trust simultaneously created with the aforesaid trust in which Marie H. Maeder named her daughter, Marie M. Miles, as income beneficiary and trustee, and the Chase Manhattan Bank as corporate trustee. The cMldren of Marie M. Miles — John S. Reid, Jr. and Clayton J. M. Miles — are the remaindermen of said trust.

John Maeder died without issue on April 20, 1970, and the petitioner, his surviving corporate trustee, seeks a judgment pursuant to article 77 of the CPLR, (1) judicially settling the account of proceedings of the Chase Manhattan Bank, National Association, and John Maeder, deceased, as trustees, (2) construing said trust to determine whether or not petitioner should have included, in computing the amounts payable to John Maeder pursuant to his right annually to withdraw 5% of the aggregate value of assets of the trust, the amount payable to the trust from the Estate of Marie H. Maeder, (3) determining whether or not the estate of John Maeder is entitled to the sum of $50,000, an invasion of principal which allegedly had been approved by petitioner prior to the death of John Maeder but which was not paid to him during his lifetime, (4) fixing and allowing the commissions of petitioner, and (5) granting and allowing such other and further relief as to the court may seem just and proper.

The interested parties in this proceeding, in addition to the petitioning corporate trustee, are Commercial Bank at Daytona Beach, administrator c.t.a. of the estate of John Maeder; Marie M. Miles, individually and as trustee and income beneficiary of the trust created by Marie H. Maeder afore-mentioned; and John S. Reid, Jr. and Clayton J. M. Miles, the children of Marie M. Miles. All of said individual parties are over the age of 21 years except Clayton J. M. Miles, for whom a guardian ad litem in this proceeding has been appointed.

The court judicially settles the account as filed, except that it is directed that a 2% stock dividend on 5% shares of Columbia Broadcasting System common stock shall be allocated to income, not capital. Petitioner’s commissions as set forth in Schedule H of the account are so fixed and allowed.

[166]*166This leaves for determination the two items involving a construction of the trust enumerated as items 2 and 3 in the relief sought by the petitioner; (2) whether or not petitioner should have included the amounts payable to the trust by the estate of Marie H. Maeder, who died July 31, 1966, in computing the amounts payable to John Maeder during his lifetime, pursuant to his right which he exercised in 1968, 1969 and 1970 to withdraw 5% of the aggregate value of the assets of the trust; and (3) whether or not petitioner should pay to the estate of John Maeder $50,000, an invasion of principal which petitioner alleges it had approved on March 31, 1970, prior to the death of John Maeder, but had not paid to him during his lifetime.

The administrator c.t.a. of the estate of John Maeder takes the affirmative position, and the guardian ad litem the negative position upon both the aforesaid questions.

If the contentions of the administrator c.t.a. should prevail, this would mean that both the additional assets subject to the 5% invasion and the $50,000 invasion will go over to the estate of John Maeder, and under his will to his sister, Marie M. Miles, outright. Under the position of the guardian ad litem, said assets remained in the John Maeder trust until the termination of the trust resulting from John Maeder’s death, and under the terms of the trust poured over to the Marie M. Miles trust under which the ward of the guardian ad litem and his brother are remaindermen.

First, the court will discuss and decide item (2).

Article second of the trust indenture provides in part: ‘ ‘ The Grantor’s son, John Maeder, shall have the right to withdraw from the trust, in each calendar year, a sum not in excess of (a) 5 fo of the aggregate value, as of the date upon which the corporate Trustee shall receive from him written notification of withdrawal, of the assets of the trust, or (b) $5,000, whichever is greater.”

Article seventh of the trust indenture provides: ‘ ‘ The Grantor may, at any time and from time to time, transfer and deliver to the Trustees, or, may by her Last Will and Testament give and devise to the Trustees, additional cash or other property acceptable to them which shall thereupon become a part of the trust estate and shall be held and disposed of by the Trustees in all respects subject to the provisions of this Indenture. The trust investments, whether originally or subsequently transferred to the Trustees, may be commingled and treated as part of a single trust.”

[167]*167During each of the years 1968, 1969 and 1970, petitioner paid John Maeder, upon his written notification of withdrawal, 5% of the aggregate value of the assets of the trust, including in said valuation $506,467.38 distributed to the trust under the will of Marie H. Maeder from her residuary estate but not including 5% of the balance distributable from her residuary estate to the trust under said will, which was admitted to probate in the Surrogate’s Court, Westchester County, on August 18, 1966. The court has read the written notifications of withdrawals by John Maeder dated April 23, 1968, January 20, 1969, and January 6, 1970, and is satisfied that each of said demands was for 5% of the aggregate value of the assets of the trust.

Under article fifth B of the will of Marie H. Maeder, the testatrix directed that the share, if any, set aside for the benefit of John Maeder in accordance with the provisions of article third of her will and the share, if any, of her residuary estate set aside upon her death for John Maeder in accordance with article fourth of her will, “ shall be transferred, conveyed and paid over and I give, devise and bequeath the same, to the Trustees, then acting, of the trust created for his benefit under a certain Indenture dated September 19, 1963, entered into between me, as Grantor, and John Maeder and The Chase Manhattan Bank (National Association), as Trustees, the same to be added to, held, managed and disposed of as a part of such trust.”

The account shows that on April 15, 1968, as of March 26, 1968, prior to the aforesaid written notifications, the trust received the afore-mentioned $506,467.38 from the estate of Marie H. Maeder. It further states: It is estimated that the interest of the trust accounted for herein in the Estate of Marie H. Maeder on the date of each such request (i.e., the requests for the 5% payments on April 26, 1968, January 23, 1969, and January 8, 1970) was approximately $200,000.”

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

Related

In re Estate of Donahue
48 A.D.2d 815 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1975)
In re the Estate of Osterlof
74 Misc. 2d 877 (New York Surrogate's Court, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
69 Misc. 2d 163, 329 N.Y.S.2d 663, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-accounting-of-maeder-nysupct-1972.