Randall v. Randall

• Decision Date: 20 December 1944
• Docket Number: No. 231.,231.
• Citation: 60 F. Supp. 308
• Parties: RANDALL et al. v. RANDALL
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

60 F. Supp. 308

RANDALL et al. v. RANDALL

No. 231.

District Court, S. D. Florida.

December 20, 1944.

Addison L. Williams and Clark W. Jennings, both of Orlando, Fla., for plaintiff.

W. H. Poe, of Orlando, Fla., for defendant.

DE VANE, District Judge.

1. This action was instituted for the purpose of dissolving an irrevocable trust.

2. Plaintiff Mary Bell Randall is the donor and the life beneficiary of a certain trust created by a trust agreement executed August 23, 1932. George DeGolyer Randall, Laura Randall Huttig, Walter Doane Randall, Donald Treat Randall, a minor, and Herbert Thomson Randall, all being children of the donor, are named in said trust agreement as the beneficiaries of said trust. All of said named beneficiaries, with the exception of Donald Treat Randall, were adults at the time said trust was created, and are parties to this action.

3. The trust agreement provides that the trust shall terminate upon the death of the donor and that:

"(a) Upon the death of the donor, the trustees shall pay the expenses of the donor's last illness and burial and any unpaid compensation of the trustees and expenses of this trust and thereupon this trust shall terminate and the remainder of the trust estate remaining in the hands of the trustees, including all accumulated income, shall pass to and be delivered, transferred, conveyed, and assigned to, and divided among, the five surviving children of the donor, to-wit: Herbert Thomson Randall, George DeGolyer Randall, Laura Randall Huttig, Walter Doane Randall, and Donald Treat Randall, in equal parts, share and share alike.

"(b) In the event that at the time of my death, my son Donald Treat Randall shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, then this trust shall not terminate as to his share, but the said trustees shall retain and hold the share of said Donald Treat Randall in trust, with all the powers herein conferred on said trustees and said trustees shall use so much of the income or corpus of his share of the trust estate as they may deem wise or necessary, for his support, care, maintenance and liberal education, the balance thereof to be transferred and delivered to him when he attains the age of twenty-five years.

"(c) In the event that any of the said five children of the donor should die before the death of the donor, leaving no surviving child or children, or surviving issue of a deceased child or children, and leaving no surviving husband or wife with whom such child was living at the time of his or her death, then the share of this trust estate which would otherwise have passed to such child, shall pass to and be paid over to and divided among the remaining children of the donor, or their issue, in equal parts, share and share alike, per stirpes and not per capita.

"(d) In the event that any of the said five children of the donor should die before the death of the donor, leaving a surviving child or children, or surviving issue of a deceased child or children, such surviving child or children or surviving issue of a deceased child or children, shall be entitled to, and shall take, share and share alike, per stirpes, the share of the trust estate that his, her or their father or mother would have taken, if living at the time of the donor's death.

"(e) In the event that any of the said five children of the donor should die before the death of the donor, leaving no surviving child or children, or surviving issue of a deceased child or children, but leaving a surviving husband or wife with whom such child was living at the time of his or her death, then this trust will not terminate as to the share of the trust estate which would have been received by such child if living, and the said trustees shall hold said share in trust, for the use and benefit of such surviving husband or wife, with all the powers as hereinbefore granted, and shall pay the full net income from said share to such surviving husband or wife, until he or she either dies or remarries, whichever event first occurs. Upon the death or re-marriage of such surviving husband or wife, whichever shall first occur, the said trust as such share shall thereupon terminate, and the corpus thereof, together with any accumulated and undistributed income, shall pass and be turned over and delivered to, the remaining children of the donor, or their issue, share and share alike, per stirpes and not per capita."

4. Only one of the named beneficiaries is under disability, namely, Donald Treat Randall, a minor, whose natural father was duly appointed by the County Judge's Court of Orange County, Florida, as guardian of his person and estate, and, as such guardian, is a party to this action.

5. Plaintiffs George DeGolyer Randall, Laura Randall Huttig, and Walter Doane Randall, and defendant, Herbert Thomson Randall, are the trustees named in said trust agreement, were duly qualified as such, and have actively administered the trust; and all of said trustees are parties to this action.

6. The evidence discloses that the trust was created for the purpose of relieving the donor of the responsibility of managing the assets conveyed thereto, and of providing for a collective control of said assets by the adult beneficiaries, thereby enabling them to gain desirable experience and responsibility in the management of said property, and, at the same time, of assuring the donor that she would have a sufficient income for her own needs.

The purposes for which the trust was created have been accomplished, and the trust is no longer necessary.

It is the desire of the donor, the adult beneficiaries, and the guardian of the minor beneficiary that the trust be dissolved, for the following reasons: By selling her life estate to the beneficiaries and obtaining $264,350 therefor, Mrs. Randall is assured of sufficient assets for her support. Her children have become experienced in the management of the property, and she desires each of them to receive his own share. The war has vitally affected the lives of three of her children who have been in active service in the Army and Navy of the United States, and are subject to active service abroad. If there is a present distribution of the trust assets, adequate provision for these individuals will be made, and their families assured of economic independence. All of the beneficiaries, with the exception of Donald Treat Randall, who is eighteen years of age, have reached a mature period in life, and are well qualified to look after their property.

The donor has entered into a contract with the beneficiaries dated October 10, 1944, the original of which was received in evidence as plaintiffs' Exhibit 2. By the terms of this contract, the adult beneficiaries and the guardian of the minor beneficiary purchased from the donor, Mary Bell Randall, in the form of undivided one-fifth interests therein, all of her life estate in the trust corpus for a total sum of $264,350.

7. The donor, the guardian of the minor beneficiary, all the adult beneficiaries, and the trustees named in the trust agreement have consented to the dissolution of said trust, with the exception of the defendant, Herbert Thomson Randall, who filed an answer and counterclaim in his individual capacity and as one of the trustees of said trust. The following questions were presented to the Court:

(a) Have all parties necessary to a proper adjudication of this action been joined as parties plaintiff and defendant?

(b) What interests did the trust agreement give the children of the donor?

(c) What was the result of the consent of the donor and her children to a dissolution of the trust?

(d) What effect did the consent of the donor and her children to a dissolution of the trust have upon the interests of the contingent beneficiaries, in esse and unborn?

(e) Were the contingent beneficiaries, in esse and unborn, necessary parties to this action?

(f) Were the contingent beneficiaries, in esse and unborn, properly represented in this action?

(g) Were the interests of the contingent beneficiaries, in esse and unborn, subjected to the jurisdiction of the court?

(h) Are the contingent beneficiaries, in esse and unborn, bound by the decree in this action?

(i) There being no purposes of the trust unfulfilled, what was the effect on the trust of the consent to its dissolution by the donor, the trustees, the adult named beneficiaries and the guardian of the minor named beneficiary?

(j) What was the effect of the purchase by the named beneficiaries of the life estate of Mary Bell Randall in the trust assets?

(k) Was the valuation placed upon the trust assets fair and reasonable?

(l) Was the valuation placed upon the life estate of Mary Bell Randall fair and reasonable?

(m) Was that certain proposed trust indenture, signed as of August 23, 1932, a photostatic copy of which was received in evidence as plaintiffs' Exhibit 22, ever consummated by the parties thereto, and has it ever had any force and effect as a validly executed trust agreement?

8. The trust herein sought to be dissolved is an active trust, and, by its terms, irrevocable. However, the donor or settlor is alive, and has entered into an agreement with her four adult children and the guardian of her minor child, by the terms of which the children and guardian have agreed to purchase her life interest in the assets of the trust; and all of said parties have consented to the dissolution of the trust. By the terms of the trust instrument, these children took vested interests in the assets of the trust, subject only to the life estate therein of the donor. There are no vested interests in the trust property other than the interests of said children. Therefore, the donor, her four adult children, and the guardian of her minor child, all of whom have been made parties hereto, are the only necessary parties to a proper adjudication of this action. See Restatement of the Law, Trusts, Vol. 2, page 1033, Sec. 338(1), which states the rule...