The Second Department determined the executor’s informal accounting and disclosures to beneficiaries were sufficient, therefore the release signed by a beneficiary could not be set aside:
“[A] fiduciary, as an executor or trustee, is obligated to account for his or her decisions and actions in administering an estate or trust” … . “While formal accountings of an estate are done in the context of a judicial proceeding, [a] fiduciary may also account informally by obtaining receipts and releases from interested parties regarding the handling of the estate or trust'” … . ” [S]uch an informal accounting is as effectual for all purposes as a settlement pursuant to a judicial decree'” … . ” [I]f a fiduciary gives full disclosure in his [or her] accounting, to which the beneficiaries are parties . . . they should have to object at that time or be barred from doing so after the settlement of the account'” … . “Where the validity of a release is challenged, the fiduciary must affirmatively demonstrate that the beneficiaries were made aware of the nature and legal effect of the transaction in all its particulars'” … .
Here, the documents provided by [the executor] to … the … beneficiaries along with the release made the beneficiaries aware of all the distributions that would be made from the estate. The tax return showed that [the executor] would receive a greater share of the estate as a result of bank accounts she held jointly with the decedent. Thus, the Surrogate’s Court correctly denied [the beneficiary’s] motion to set aside the release. Matter of Spacek, 2017 NY Slip Op 07737, Second Dept 11-8-17
TRUSTS AND ESTATES (EXECUTOR’S DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMAL ACCOUNTING OF THE ESTATE TO BENEFICIARIES WAS SUFFICIENT, BENEFICIARY’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE A RELEASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/ACCOUNTING (TRUSTS AND ESTATES, XECUTOR’S DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMAL ACCOUNTING OF THE ESTATE TO BENEFICIARIES WAS SUFFICIENT, BENEFICIARY’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE A RELEASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/EXECUTORS (ACCOUNTING, EXECUTOR’S DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMAL ACCOUNTING OF THE ESTATE TO BENEFICIARIES WAS SUFFICIENT, BENEFICIARY’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE A RELEASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/RELEASES (TRUSTS AND ESTATES, INFORMAL ACCOUNTING, EXECUTOR’S DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMAL ACCOUNTING OF THE ESTATE TO BENEFICIARIES WAS SUFFICIENT, BENEFICIARY’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE A RELEASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/INFORMAL ACCOUNTINGS (TRUSTS AND ESTATES, EXECUTOR’S DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMAL ACCOUNTING OF THE ESTATE TO BENEFICIARIES WAS SUFFICIENT, BENEFICIARY’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE A RELEASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))