In re the Estate of Kimber

172 Misc. 991, 16 N.Y.S.2d 786, 1939 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2606
CourtNew York Surrogate's Court
DecidedDecember 4, 1939
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 172 Misc. 991 (In re the Estate of Kimber) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Surrogate's 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 Estate of Kimber, 172 Misc. 991, 16 N.Y.S.2d 786, 1939 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2606 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1939).

Opinion

Henderson, S.

The questions decided herein were raised by objections to the account of Louisa E. Boutelle, testamentary trustee.

The will directed the division of the decedent’s residuary estate into four equal shares. The trustees were directed “ to hold each of said equal shares ” for the following life beneficiaries, George C. Kimber, John E. Kimber, Anna K. Boutelle and Louisa E. Boutelle, who were nephews and nieces of the decedent. The remaindermen were the children of the respective life beneficiaries. The nephews have children. The nieces were unmarried. Anna K. Boutelle survived the decedent, but has since died. The trustee is the secondary life beneficiary of that trust. The two nephews are presently the remaindermen of the trusts created for the nieces. Should either of the remaindermen predecease the cestui que trust, his share is to go to his children.

Three objections have been filed by the special guardian for the infant remaindermen. George C. Kimber, John E. Kimber, Isabelle C. Kimber and Alice B. Kimber have filed eleven numbered objections, some of which are subdivided.

Those of the special guardian will first be considered. His first objection is to twenty-three items set forth in Schedule C which he asserts should be charged to income instead of capital.

The four trusts are held in solido. There are three pieces of real property owned by the estate. The decedent died seized of a bond and mortgage executed by Nellie Halleran and another executed by Margaret DiMenna.

Before her death the decedent started to foreclose the DiMenna mortgage. This proceeding was concluded by the executrix who [993]*993took over the mortgaged real property which was unimproved, and turned it over to the trustee.

The other mortgaged realty is also unimproved. It was necessary for the executrix to take over this property also. It was also turned over to the trustee.

The trustee takes the position that, so far as these two parcels are concerned, they are salvage operations and that those expenditures which have been made on account thereof should be advanced from principal until such time as a sale may be had and the proceeds allocated between capital and income under the rule in Matter of Chapal (269 N. Y. 464). One parcel has been sold subsequent to the period covered by this account.

The objectants urge that the rule in Matter of Chapal applies only to property which has become unproductive during the administration of the trustee. There appears to be no reason for such a distinction. In that case Judge Lotjghran said (at p. 472): In such an investment situation what is involved is the salvage of a security. The security it is to be remembered is a security not for principal alone but for income as well. On a sale, therefore, the proceeds should be used first to pay the expenses of the sale and the foreclosure costs and next to reimburse the capital account for any advances of capital for carrying charges not theretofore reimbursed out of income from the property.”

Whether the default on the mortgage investment occurs during the administration of the estate by the executor or is postponed until the trustee is in charge, makes no difference. In both cases the necessity for acquiring the real estate and for its subsequent-liquidation is the same, and the equities involved in the apportionment between income and principal are the same.

The present accounting makes a charge against principal for expenses incurred in the liquidation of the real estate. Such expenditures should be shown as advances respectively for the particular properties involved.

Objection is made to an allowance claimed by the trustee for traveling from her home in New Hampshire to New York city on four occasions. While such trips should only be taken when necessary and such allowances carefully scrutinized, they are proper if they can withstand the test of such an examination. The trustee took up her residence in New Hampshire before this wall was executed and has resided there continuously since. The testatrix must have known where the trustee was living. She realized that such expenses might necessarily have to be incurred if the accountant accepted the appointment requested of her by the testatrix. Four such trips were undertaken; $150 of the expenses incurred on three of those trips should be allocated to the salvaging of the unimproved [994]*994real estate. She caused an appraisal of the three parcels of real property for which she expended seventy-five dollars; fifty dollars of this sum is allocable to the unimproved property. A reasonable allowance for her attorney in connection with one parcel is seventy-five dollars. These sums have been charged to principal in the account. They should be set up as advances from principal and charged equally to the two unimproved parcels except the attorney’s fee which is charged to the Halloren property.

The items of $121.55 for taxes and three dollars for repair of sidewalk for lot 58 are advances from principal to be charged against proceeds of sale from that lot; and the sum of $185.20 for taxes on lots 33 and 34 is an advance from principal to be charged to that parcel. There is an item of $85.80 for taxes, but it is not shown what amount is chargeable to each parcel. The trustee is directed to file an affidavit showing how much of this sum should be allocated to the respective properties.

It is a general rule that all the ordinary expenses of the administration of a trust are chargeable to income, and that only such expenses which increase the value of the trust capital such as permanent improvements to real property are chargeable to principal. (Matter of Tracy, 179 N. Y. 501; Matter of Shepard, 136 Misc. 218.)

Applying such rule, the following items are erroneously charged to principal and are chargeable to income: Standard Safe Deposit Company of New York, safe deposit rental, two items, $26.40; fire insurance, West Farms property, $10; Mechanics Bank, Concord, N. H., safe deposit box, $5.50, and the balance of $25 for the appraisal of the West Farms property.

Objection was made to a charge to principal of $168.38 for the trustee’s bond premium and $75 for custodian fee.

Paragraph ninth of the will reads: And I further direct that no bond or other security be required of any of them for the faithful performance of their duties as trustees hereunder.”

On the executor’s accounting the special guardian for certain remaindermen objected to the qualification of the trustee on the ground that she was a non-resident and asked for the appointment of a trust company as cotrustee. The surrogate declined to appoint such cotrustee but required the trustee to file a bond pursuant to section 97 of the Surrogate’s Court Act. To save premium expense the trustee arranged for a bank to act as custodian of certain of the assets and filed a bond for the balance. It is these items that the trustee charged to principal. The testatrix did not contemplate any expenditures for such purposes for she expressly directed that no bond was to be filed. The bond was filed because it was requested by the remaindermen. Under the circumstances it is a fair construction of the will that the testatrix did not wish the income of [995]*995the primary objects of her bounty reduced by such expenses.

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Related

In re the Appointment of a Successor Trustee of the Trust under the Will of Phipps
1 A.D.2d 695 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1955)
In re the Estate of Bernard
177 Misc. 712 (New York Surrogate's Court, 1941)
In re the Judicial Settlement of the Account of Proceedings of Boutelle
261 A.D. 901 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1941)

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Bluebook (online)
172 Misc. 991, 16 N.Y.S.2d 786, 1939 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2606, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-estate-of-kimber-nysurct-1939.