Williams v. Northern Trust Bank

819 F. Supp. 1042, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9216, 1993 WL 127096
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 15, 1993
DocketNo. 91-1595-CIV-T-15-A
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 819 F. Supp. 1042 (Williams v. Northern Trust Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Northern Trust Bank, 819 F. Supp. 1042, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9216, 1993 WL 127096 (M.D. Fla. 1993).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

CHARLES R. WILSON, United States Magistrate Judge.

THIS CAUSE comes before the court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed December 24, 1992 (doc. 26) and responses thereto, and Defendants several motions to strike affidavits in support of the Plaintiffs motion, filed January 25, 1993 (docs. 35-36).

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment is appropriate only when the Court is satisfied “that there is no genuine issues as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” In making this determination, the Court must view all of the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Samples ex rel. Samples v. Atlanta, 846 F.2d 1328, 1330 (11th Cir.1988). The moving party has the initial burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Next, the “non-moving party ... bears the burden of coming forward with sufficient evidence of every element that he or she must prove.” Rollins v. TechSouth, Inc., 833 F.2d 1525, 1528 (11th Cir.1987). To that end, the non-moving party must “go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file’, designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial’ ” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d at 274.

II. BACKGROUND

The essential facts of this case are not in dispute. Emily Lefton is grantor of the Emily Lefton Revocable Living Trust (“the Trust”). Article 2 of the trust expressly reserves to Emily Lefton the right to revoke, alter, amend or otherwise change the Trust at anytime, in whole or in part, without the consent of anyone. Ms. Lefton has exercised her right to revoke and amend the trust four times since 1985.

Rebecca Williams, the plaintiff, is Emily Lefton’s granddaughter. She is a beneficiary under two provisions of the trust: (1) Article 5 provides that Ms. Williams is to be paid monthly from the Trust an amount equal to one-twelfth of the annual exclusion for gift tax purposes during Ms. Lefton’s lifetime, or unless Ms. Lefton directs otherwise in writing; (2) Article 7 provides that the balance of the trust will be divided into two equal shares and held in two separate trusts upon Emily Lefton’s death. Should Rebecca Williams survive Emily Lefton, she would become the sole beneficiary of one of those two trusts. Pursuant to the first provision, Ms. Williams has received $833.33 per month for the past six years, amounting to total payments exceeding $60,000.

In May of 1991, a Sarasota County Circuit Court declared Emily Lefton totally incapacitated. The reports of the Examining Committee in that case diagnosed Emily Lefton with primary senile dementia with prognoses of progressive, unremitting deterioration of [1044]*1044her cognitive state, which will continue to deteriorate and require round-the-clock supervision. Ms. Lefton is over ninety years old.

The plaintiff sued, inter alia, for declaratory relief and a judgment ordering an accounting of expenditures and investments made in the trust from its commencement and a copy of all trust documents. The plaintiff makes these demands, relying upon Florida Statutes, section 737.303, which provides in pertinent part that:

The trustee shall keep the beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. In addition:
(2) Upon reasonable request, the trustee shall provide a beneficiary as defined under ss. 731.201 and 731.303 with a copy of the trust instrument that describes or affects his interest.
(3) Upon reasonable request, the trustees shall provide any vested beneficiary with relevant information about the assets of the trust and the particulars relating to administration.
(4) A vested beneficiary is entitled to a statement of the accounts of the trust annually and upon termination of the trust or upon change of the trustee.

Florida Statutes § 737.303 (1991) (emphasis provided). Plaintiff claims that Ms. Williams is, at least, a beneficiary within the meaning of the statutes, which provide that an “owner of a beneficial interest in a trust” is a beneficiary of that trust. Fla.Stat. § 731.201 (1991). Defendants concede that the plaintiff is, at least, a “contingent beneficiary” of the trust, and therefore a beneficiary thereof. (Def. Response at ¶ 2.) The principal issue, therefore, is whether the plaintiff is a vested beneficiary of the Trust, within the meaning of section 737.303.

The plaintiff claims that Ms. Lefton, the grantor, suffers a permanent incapacity. Because the right to terminate a trust or change its terms is personal to the trustor and is not passed on to her successor the plaintiff argues that the terms of the trust are no longer revocable in fact. See Watson v. St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co., 146 So.2d 383, 386 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962). The defendant alleges that Ms. Lefton’s condition is permanent and irreversible. Therefore, the plaintiff concludes, Ms. Williams’ interest in the income and principal of one-half of the trust upon her grandmother’s death became vested when Emily Lefton was declared incompetent.

The defendant responds that a non-grantor beneficiary of a revocable trust is necessarily a contingent beneficiary because the right to receive the interest is subject to a condition precedent: the relevant provisions of the trust will not be revoked before the beneficiary takes. The defendant disputes whether Ms. Lefton’s capacity is permanent, both as matters of fact and of law. Citing to case law holding that the holder of an interest that is subject to the condition that a ninety-two year old woman will not have lawful issue is a contingent beneficiary, the defendant contends that even if the plaintiff could prove Ms. Lefton’s condition was permanent under present medical technology, the remote possibility of future advances precludes the plaintiffs interest from vesting. The defendant further argues that because the plaintiffs future interest is dependent upon Ms. Williams surviving Ms. Lefton, her interest is contingent for that reason alone.

III. RIGHT TO AN ACCOUNTING

Prior to 1975, Florida law exempted trustees of inter vivos trusts from a duty to account to non-grantor beneficiaries. Florida Statutes § 737.27 (1973). In 1974 and 1975, the Florida Legislature repealed the Florida trust accounting law and replaced it with the text of the Uniform Probate Code. 1974 Fla.Laws ch. 106; 1975 Fla.Laws ch. 221 (codified as amended at Fla.Stat. ch. 737 (1991)). The Uniform Probate Code provided that all beneficiaries of a trust, including inter vivos trusts, were entitled to, inter alia, annual statements of account. In 1977, the Legislature amended section 737.303 to limit the trustee’s duty to provide annual statements of account only to “vested” beneficiaries. 1977 Fla.Laws ch. 344.

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Bluebook (online)
819 F. Supp. 1042, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9216, 1993 WL 127096, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-northern-trust-bank-flmd-1993.