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Keywords

appealtrust

plaintiffappealtrust

Related Cases

Bongaards v. Millen, 440 Mass. 10, 793 N.E.2d 335

Facts

In 1978, Josephine D'Amore created a trust that included real estate intended for her children and grandchildren. After her death, her daughter Jean Bongaards managed the property and later executed documents that seemed to convey the property to herself individually. Jean also maintained a bank account in her name as trustee for her sister. Upon Jean's death, her husband sought a declaration that these assets should be included in his elective share, leading to the legal dispute.

In 1978, Josephine D'Amore, who was Jean's mother, created the 291 Commonwealth Avenue Trust (trust) and conveyed to the trust real estate consisting of an apartment building located at that address in Boston.

Issue

Whether the real property held in trust by the deceased should be included in the elective share of the surviving spouse, and whether the bank account should also be considered part of the estate.

The question before us is whether Jean's estate, for purposes of determining the plaintiff's statutory share, includes the property located at 291 Commonwealth Avenue and the funds in the bank savings account.

Rule

The court applied principles regarding the validity of trusts and the rights of surviving spouses under G.L. c. 191, § 15, which allows a surviving spouse to claim a statutory share of the deceased spouse's estate.

Under that rule, however, the trust property at issue here is still not subject to the plaintiff's elective share for the simple reason that the trust was created by a third party, D'Amore, and not by Jean.

Analysis

The court determined that the real property was validly held in trust and could not be considered part of Jean's estate for the purposes of the elective share. The court also found that the bank account, which was not held in trust, should be included in the estate. The court emphasized that the trust was created by a third party and thus did not fall under the rules applicable to trusts created by the deceased spouse.

The court determined that the real property was validly held in trust and could not be considered part of Jean's estate for the purposes of the elective share.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the Appeals Court's decision, holding that the real property was not part of the estate but that the bank account was included in the elective share.

We now conclude that the result reached by the Appeals Court was correct, but we reach that same result for different reasons.

Who won?

The estate prevailed in the case regarding the real property, as the court found it was held in trust and not part of the estate. However, the surviving spouse prevailed concerning the bank account, which was included in the estate.

The estate prevailed in the case regarding the real property, as the court found it was held in trust and not part of the estate.

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Alexander v. UMB Bank, N.A., 632 S.W.3d 385

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In re Durand’s Will, 250 N.Y. 45, 164 N.E. 737

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