In re the Estate of Slensby

169 Misc. 292, 7 N.Y.S.2d 471, 1938 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2064
CourtNew York Surrogate's Court
DecidedOctober 28, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 169 Misc. 292 (In re the Estate of Slensby) 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 Slensby, 169 Misc. 292, 7 N.Y.S.2d 471, 1938 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2064 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1938).

Opinion

Wingate, S.

The problem posed in the present proceeding concerns the responsibility of an executor or administrator for the loss to an estate by reason of the malefactions of a cofiduciary.

William P. Slensby died on April 20,1922. His will was probated in this court about six weeks later. It bequeathed $2,500 in general legacies, gave two-sevenths of the residue outright each to his daughter, Laura E. Mutteen, and his son, Joseph P. Slensby, two-sevenths in trust for the fife benefit of his son, Robert Slensby, with remainder to the wife and children of the latter; and the final one-seventh in trust for his grandson, Arthur S. Waldron, with the principal payable to him when he attained the age of twenty-five years.

Laura and Joseph were named as executors and trustees. They were accorded no discretionery powers of investment. Both accepted letters testamentary. Neither expressly qualified as trustee. No accounting has ever been had. The trusts were never set up. Joseph died intestate on December 12, 1937, having been predeceased by Robert, who died on December 5, 1936. Upon the death of Robert, the unerected trust terminated and his children became entitled to the distribution of its theoretical principal avails. This is a compulsory proceeding instituted by these remaindermen.

[294]*294It appears from the records in the transfer tax proceeding that the decedent, at the time of his death, was seized of four parcels of real estate possessing an aggregate value of $62,250; that he had five bank accounts, the deposits in which totaled $14,525.11; was possessed of four real estate bonds and mortgages worth $10,797.02, and corporate and government bonds possessing a market value of $12,718.74. The aggregate deductions as allowed in the proceeding totaled $2,791.35, leaving a net estate (exclusive of wearing apparel) of $97,499.52.

In her present account the coexecutrix fails to charge herself with, any item of these principal assets except a deposit of $1,000 on the sale of one of the parcels of real property. She shows income receipts totaling $14,579.24, against which and the noted $1,000 she charges miscellaneous disbursements (including the funeral bill), arriving at a net balance of $66.19.

Her position, adopted on the trial, was that although she had qualified as coexecutrix and had read and understood the provisions of the will, she did not realize her responsibilities as a cofiduciary and left the entire conduct of the affairs of the estate to her brother, who was a lawyer, and that the latter had embezzled the principal assets of the estate in their entirety. She admitted, however, that after their qualification she went to the five banks in which the decedent had deposits and joined him in the withdrawal of their total avails, aggregating $14,525.11, which she turned over to him; also, that upon the sales of the several parcels of real estate, purchase-money mortgages were taken back in the names of both executors and that she subsequently executed satisfaction pieces thereof upon their payment by the several mortgagors. The exact- amounts of such sums has not been made to appear, but enough was demonstrated to show that the moneys so received exceeded $25,000 in amount.

It also appeared that funds of the estate were used to replace a mortgage in the sum of $10,000 on the home of the accountant and that $6,000 was similarly loaned on the house of a relative in New Jersey.

Despite the accountant's assumption of the role of an utter simpleton, certain portions of the composite demonstration were somewhat dissonant with this character, it having been admitted that she acted as general managing agent for all of her father's real property for a number of years prior to his death, caring for the rentals, repairs, taxes, etc., thereof, and that she continued so so act for a number of years after her qualification as executrix in relation to the real property holdings of the estate. She also took care to see to it that her benefit under the will was promptly paid to her.

[295]*295It was conceded at the trial that if the accountant is surcharge-able, the sum of $25,000 is the amount of the loss sustained by the objectors.

The subject of the accountability of a fiduciary for the derelictions of a cofiduciary in the absence of active participation therein, has been the subject of repeated judicial pronouncement since time immemorial., A study of these decisions indicates that their formulation has involved the application and definition of three basic principles of the law respecting the administration of estates. The first of these principles is that every estate fiduciary, by virtue of his office, is entitled to the custody of the assets of the estate or fund. When there are two or more fiduciaries, each possesses an equal right in this regard and the recognition and effectuation by one, of such right of another, is not in and of itself an adequate basis upon which to predicate a surcharge on the theory of neglect of duty by the one yielding to the asserted right of the other.

The second basic principle is that a trustee should act in relation to a trust property with reasonable diligence, and in case of a joint trust he must exercise due caution and vigilance in respect to the approval of, and acquiescence in, the acts of his co-trustees, for if he should deliver over the whole management to others, and betray supine indifference or gross negligence in regard to the interests of the cestui que trust, he will be held responsible.” (Earle v. Earle, 93 N. Y. 104, 113.)

Finally, it is primary that every fiduciary is chargeable with all the assets of the deceased which have been actually received by him ” or “ which have come to his hands.” (Surr. Ct. Act, § 264; Matter of Storm, 28 Hun, 499, 500; Mesick v. Mesick, 7 Barb. 120, 124.)

Three situations are conceivable in this connection, and the language employed in their adjudication has, in certain instances, been superficially contradictory, if the reader fails to recollect the different basic principles which are applicable. The first two of these situations relate to the manner of holding of the particular asset in question prior to the time it came into the unrestricted possession of the cofiduciary by whom it was misapplied. In this regard, a distinction is to be drawn between a case in which the item in question was an asset or the proceeds of an asset, which was in the actual physical possession of both cofiduciaries prior to the time when its unrestricted control was intrusted to one of their number and one in which it was merely one which they were entitled to reduce to possession, which act had not actually been performed. In the former situation, a cofiduciary who surrenders [296]*296to his associate the asset or proceeds thereof, of which he had previously held joint ownership, will be held liable, if such associate wastes or converts it after he had achieved sole custody thereof. Where, however, the asset had not previously been reduced to the possession of either fiduciary, one will not be held responsible for the devastavit of his cofiduciary merely because he did not insist upon receiving personal or joint control thereof.

The final situation looks to the act or neglect of the fiduciary who is not in possession of the asset which has, as an initial matter, been reduced to possession by his associate with his acquiescence.

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Bluebook (online)
169 Misc. 292, 7 N.Y.S.2d 471, 1938 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2064, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-estate-of-slensby-nysurct-1938.