Old Colony Trust Co. v. Rodd

George Sanderson’s will created a trust containing securities. The will instructed the trustee, Old Colony Trust Co. (Colony) (defendant), to make payments of income or principal to the designated beneficiaries during their lifetimes as necessary in the trustee’s judgment for the beneficiaries’ comfortable support. The will specified that Sanderson’s intent was to fulfill his father-in-law’s desire to ensure the comfortable support and maintenance of his descendants. The will identified as beneficiaries the father-in-law’s named descendants plus their children or grandchildren alive at Sanderson’s death. Upon the death of the last beneficiary, Colony was to distribute the trust’s remaining assets to whichever local charities Colony determined would do the most good. Between November 1963 and November 1965, which constituted the fortieth and forty-first accounting periods for the trust, the trust’s book value was approximately $220,000 in securities plus $30,000 in accumulated income. There were 15 living beneficiaries, 10 of whom were over age 60 and five of whom were between ages 40 and 60. Colony sent each beneficiary an annual questionnaire to assess need. In the fortieth and forty-first accounting periods, 10 beneficiaries requested assistance, and Colony distributed a total of $7,836 and $10,850, respectively. Several elderly beneficiaries received a monthly allowance of between $35 and $100 plus some assistance with medical bills. Two younger beneficiaries, both married women, received between $500 and $1,500 per period for their teenage children’s educational expenses. Margaret Rodd (plaintiff) was a beneficiary who was single and in her mid-forties, worked full time, and relied solely on her relatively low salary for support. Colony paid Rodd’s federal income taxes and various bills and gave her an allowance of between $65 and $115 per month, for a total distribution of $2,074 and $2,131 in the respective accounting periods. Rodd sued Colony, challenging the adequacy of Colony’s distributions. The probate judge held in Colony’s favor, and Rodd appealed.