Leona Helmsley Estate Settlement
The Associated Press reports that New York County Surrogate Renee Roth accepted a settlement in the contested Estate of Leona Helmsley. The Last Will had been contested on grounds that Ms. Helmsley was unfit to execute a Will. The Will left 12 million dollars in trust for Ms. Helmsley’s pet maltese dog, while leaving out two grandchildren “for reasons known to them.” The settlement reduces the trust for the dog to 2 million, gives the rest to charity, and provides the two grandchildren with 6 million dollars each.
Interestingly, New York is one of a few states that has enacted legislation allowing for trusts to be created for pets. So called honorary trusts, they were created by Estates Powers and Trusts Law Section 7-8.1 in 1996. Prior to this legislation, such trusts were invalid because the beneficiary of the trust was quite incapable of enforcing the trust (a necessary condition for a trust), and the trust violated the rule against perpetuities.
The 1996 legislation gets around this by allowing the grantor to nominate a person who will enforce the trust in favor of the animal, and the trust must terminate within 21 years or when no living animal is covered by the trust, whichever event occurs earlier.