08 May TRUSTEE MAKES DISTRIBUTION AT THEIR OWN RISK OF SURCHARGE BY THE COURT
Suffolk County Surrogate John Czygier Jr. in a recent decision order the fees of Court appointed Guardian ad Litems to be paid personally by a Trustee who distributed trust funds not leaving enough money in the Trust to pay the court ordered fees. This is a perfect example of the adage that being a court appointed fiduciary, be it a Trustee or an Executor bring with it not only great power but an equal amount of responsibility. Here where the Trustee had the power to make the distribution, and even though there may have not been any objection at the time the distribution was made, when all of the obligations of the Trust were considered the Trustee was correctly held responsible for the past distributions.
Matter of Reese F. Alsop Revocable Trust,