The Second Department determined the trust beneficiaries were entitled to examine the trustee about matters relating to administration of the trust but not matters related to his appointment as trustee:
SCPA 2211(2) provides, in pertinent part, that “[t]he fiduciary may be examined under oath by any party to the proceeding either before or after filing objections, if any, to the account, as to any matter relating to his or her administration of the estate.” The Surrogate’s Court providently exercised its discretion in granting the trustee’s motion for a protective order pursuant to CPLR 3103 vacating a notice of deposition served upon him by the trust’s beneficiaries … to the extent of vacating so much of the notice of deposition as sought to examine him as to “the manner in which he and Donald J. Farinacci became or were nominated as successor trustees and Donald J. Farinacci renounced such appointment,” as those issues exceeded the scope of SCPA 2211(2) … . However, under SCPA 2211(2), the trust beneficiaries were entitled to examine the trustee under oath “as to any matter relating to his or her administration of the estate.” Accordingly, the court erred in vacating the entirety of the notice of deposition … . Matter of Jane D. Ritter Revocable Living Trust., 2017 NY Slip Op 00647, 2nd Dept 2-1-17
TRUSTS AND ESTATES (BENEFICIARIES OF TRUST ENTITLED TO EXAMINE TRUSTEE ABOUT MATTERS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRUST, BUT NOT APPOINTMENT OF THE TRUSTEE)/SURROGATE’S COURT PROCEDURE ACT (BENEFICIARIES OF TRUST ENTITLED TO EXAMINE TRUSTEE ABOUT MATTERS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRUST, BUT NOT APPOINTMENT OF THE TRUSTEE)