Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg Lecture/Panel Discussion on Women and the Law; Race, Gender, and Power & Heirs® Sidewalk Demonstration

November 19, 2002
Panel Discussion at 5:00pm | Buffet Reception at 6:15pm | Lecture at 7:30pm
The Association of the Bar of The City of New York
42 West 44th Street
New York, NY, 10036

‘Wills, estates and trusts’ frequently involve women as beneficiaries. But do women get fair treatment when confronted by a family member, lawyer or bank serving as an executor and/or trustee? Voice your opinion from the floor by registering now or simply join other Heirs® members for a peaceful sidewalk demonstration during the session. Mail your registration fee of $50 promptly to Registration Chair Martha Harris at the above address. Or call her at (212) 382-6600. Alternatively, email lecture@abcny.org. Or call Standish Smith (Heirs®) at (610) 525-4442/Pat Hanley at (914) 693-6998 for hotel and demonstration details. Even if you prefer not to attend the discussion, we would still appreciate your presence outside if only for moral support! (Sandwich boards and leaflets available to hardier souls).

Beneficiaries With Bank Managed Personal Trusts Sited in DE
Heirs® member John Kaiser writes that an individual co-trustee can now remove a corporate trustee if changed circumstances can be shown!

Beneficiaries With Mellon Managed Trust/Estate Accounts
If you have been converted from a common trust fund into a MPAM (proprietary) mutual fund but wish to reconvert into an individual portfolio, call Heirs® at (610)525-4442.  Some beneficiaries report Mellon may agree to do so!

Beneficiaries
Those with trusts governed under Indiana law will be intrigued to learn that Indiana courts will now entertain a motion for removal of a bank (corporate) trustee following a merger, acquisition, etc. if a) removal is in the “best interest of the beneficiaries” and b) the trust was created after June 30th, 1996.  The pertinent section is as follows:
“A beneficiary of a trust may petition the court for the removal of a corporate trustee if there has been a change in control of the corporate trustee after the date of the execution of the trust.  The court may remove the corporate trustee if the court determines the removal is in the best interests of all the beneficiaries of the trust.  For purposes of this subsection a change in control of the corporate trustee occurs whenever a person or group of persons acting in concert acquire the beneficial ownership of an aggregate of at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the outstanding shares of voting stock of:
(a) a trustee; or (b) a corporation controlling a trustee after June 30th, 1996.”
 Obviously, a ‘best interests of the beneficiaries’ is a much lower burden than having to show the usual ‘egregious circumstances’.  Furthermore, any trustee may now be removed simply by showing ‘good cause’.

Trust Losses?
A staff writer for a major financial publication is planning an article on how beneficiaries are reacting to losses in their trust portfolios due to the recent bear market in equities. For example, did the trustee anticipate same by selling short against the box (if local statutes permitted), purchasing index puts or moving to money market funds/bonds? Simply waiting for a turnaround? Is a surcharge action planned to recover past losses?

Class Action Anyone?
Occasionally we hear complaints that divide beneficiary and bank, complaints that others often share. For example, consider the adverse tax, investment performance and cost consequences when a bank converts a bond/equity common trust fund to a proprietary mutual fund. Others involve a trustee's undisclosed interest in a company whose securities are held in a personal trust (Enron?), a trustee failing to disclose acting as principal in the sale of bonds into a trust account, offering up to a 20% discount on management fees to some beneficiaries but not others, failure to swap bonds at year's end to cover federal and state income taxes, and so forth. Even if the financial impact on a particular account may not be particularly significant, such issues cry for reform - and may be addressed via the class action without cost to the beneficiary. Heirs® has access to a former trust officer with a major Midwest bank and lawyers with class action experience who are available to work with beneficiaries interested in participating.

Fall Edition of the Heirs® Newsletter
An article on the use of exchange traded funds (ETFs) in personal trusts will appear in the next issue of Fiduciary Fun. Part One of this article contrasts index against active management, comprehensively surveys exchange traded funds (ETFs) with emphasis on cost and tax issues including previously undisclosed tax traps, explores whether an index fund is an appropriate substitute for an actively managed equity portfolio and explains how to convince a bank trustee to switch if appropriate to do so. Part Two illustrates the computations needed to make a fair comparison of the total returns of an actively managed portfolio against an index fund/ETF or even compare one index fund against another without the help of a computer or financial analyst. PA beneficiaries also look for an update on the PA Revised Trust Code and unitrust legislation.

Click Here for News Regarding SEC Proposed Registration of Bank Trust Department Employees

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