In re Trott
New Jersey Superior Court
118 N.J. Super. 436, 288 A.2d 303 (1972)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Pattie Trott was an elderly, incompetent woman under the guardianship of American National Bank & Trust of New Jersey (the guardian) (petitioner). Trott resided in a nursing home and was not expected to ever regain mental competency. Trott’s assets were sufficient to support her care and maintenance needs for the rest of her life. Prior to her incompetency, Trott executed a will leaving her entire estate to her four grandchildren, who were also her sole heirs-at-law. The guardian petitioned the court for permission to distribute $100,000 of Trott’s $700,000 estate to the grandchildren immediately, as an outright gift, and then to gift $3,000 per year to each grandchild for the remainder of Trott’s life. Trott’s remaining life expectancy was just under five years. The guardian proposed to make these distributions to decrease the size of Trott’s estate and thereby minimize the estate taxes that would be due upon Trott’s death. The guardian testified that Trott’s estate would still be more than sufficient to meet her ongoing support expenses, with a cushion for reasonably conceivable contingencies, after the proposed transfers.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Allcorn, J.)
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