Wilson v. Wilson
North Carolina Court of Appeals
690 S.E.2d 710 (2010)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
In 1992, Lawrence Wilson Jr. (codefendant) created two irrevocable trusts—one for each of his two children, Lawrence Wilson III and Leigh Wilson (plaintiffs)—naming his father, Lawrence Wilson Sr. (codefendant) as trustee. The documents creating the trusts specifically stated that the trustee would not have to provide the beneficiaries with any accountings of trust assets. In 2007, the two beneficiaries sued alleging breach of fiduciary duties, claiming their grandfather allowed their father to invest trust assets in speculative personal business ventures that lost value and failed to distribute trust income to them. The beneficiaries demanded an accounting and inspection of the trust books and records. Their father and grandfather responded that the trust terms precluded any right to an accounting or any other disclosures about the trust. The trial court agreed, entered a protective order preventing discovery, then granted the father and grandfather summary judgment because the beneficiaries could not substantiate their claims without any trust-account records. The beneficiaries appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Wynn, J.)
Dissent (Elmore, J.)
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