Helmsley's pet trust was poorly drafted

Posted on Mar 18, 2009

Billionaire Leona Helmsley created a trust that she thought would leave all her money in trust to be used solely for the care and welfare of her dogs.  Helmsley inexplicably drafted a "mission statement" for her trust and then failed to include any of it in the trust itself.  The mission statement provided instructions to her trustees on how her money should be used after her death.

This fundamental omission allowed her trustee to file a motion with New York's version of probate court asking the court to allow them to use the trust funds for charitable purposes since the trust itself did not direct them how to use the trust assets.  The judge ruled the trustees may, in their sole discretion, determine for what charitable purposes the funds can be used.

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The Grossman Law Firm, A.P.C. are San Bernardino, California probate lawyers.  We help probate estates in San Bernardino County, California.  We appear in the Redlands probate court for cases from Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Loma Linda and Redlands, California. If you  would like more information on probate and trust administration then order our free book The Insider's Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as our free DVD Probate a Will or Administer a Trust After the Death of a Loved One.