{"id":156,"date":"2018-06-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/njbr\/2018\/06\/04\/i-was-excluded-as-a-beneficiary-but-dont-think-it-was-intended-am-i-out-of-luck-maybe-not\/"},"modified":"2018-06-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-04T00:00:00","slug":"i-was-excluded-as-a-beneficiary-but-dont-think-it-was-intended-am-i-out-of-luck-maybe-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/njbr\/will-contests\/i-was-excluded-as-a-beneficiary-but-dont-think-it-was-intended-am-i-out-of-luck-maybe-not\/","title":{"rendered":"I was Excluded as a Beneficiary, but Don\u2019t Think it was Intended; am I out of Luck? Maybe Not!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know what certain words mean, particularly in the context of family.\u00a0 We know who our spouse is, who our children are, and who our grandchildren are.\u00a0 But sometimes it\u2019s not that simple, and it becomes necessary to go beyond written words to determine someone\u2019s true intention.<\/p>\n

A recent New Jersey case, In re Trust of Violet Nelson<\/em>, is a perfect example of how the commonly used term \u201cgrandchildren\u201d can mean different things to different people, and how those differing interpretations can impact the rights of beneficiaries.\u00a0 Violet Nelson was married and had six grandchildren from three different children.\u00a0 She created a trust for the benefit of her husband during his lifetime and upon his death, the trust property was to be distributed to her grandchildren.\u00a0 Violet\u2019s husband died.\u00a0 So, what\u2019s the controversy?\u00a0 The trust property gets distributed to Violet\u2019s six grandchildren, right?<\/p>\n

It turns out that one of Violet\u2019s children, Jacoba, had married outside the family\u2019s Orthodox Jewish faith, and because of that, Violet considered Jacoba and Jacoba\u2019s children \u201cdead to her.\u201d\u00a0 Violet\u2019s lawyer even testified that the word \u201cgrandchildren\u201d in the trust was intended to mean her grandchildren other than<\/em><\/strong> Jacoba\u2019s children, although the trust did not say that specifically.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the trial court held that the trust was clear, it said the trust property was to pass to Violet\u2019s grandchildren and Jacoba\u2019s children were Violet\u2019s grandchildren regardless of how Violet regarded them, end of inquiry.\u00a0 On appeal, the Appellate Division held that it was necessary to look beyond the language of the trust to determine Violet\u2019s probable intention as to who fell within the definition of \u201cgrandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this case, evidence was being introduced to exclude<\/em><\/strong> certain people from a class of beneficiaries.\u00a0 But potential beneficiaries need to be aware that the opposite holds true as well- there may be evidence to show that you should be included<\/em><\/strong> within a certain class of beneficiaries.\u00a0 For example, maybe a trust or will leaves assets to \u201cmy children.\u201d\u00a0 We discussed the concept of a \u201cmutually acknowledged child\u201d in a previous blog post<\/a> in the context of New Jersey Inheritance Tax, and in a similar vein, it may be very apparent that despite the plain meaning of the word \u201cchildren\u201d to include only natural born or adopted children, circumstances can clearly show that someone had a more expansive view of that term.<\/p>\n

Beneficiaries should therefore not assume that words will always be interpreted consistently with their plain meaning.\u00a0 Courts look to fulfill the intent of people who create wills and trusts, even if that means looking outside the document to determine what that intent is.\u00a0 Beneficiaries can use this to their advantage when they appear to be excluded from a trust or will, but feel that is not what was intended.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions about this post or any other matters, please contact me at\u00a0jjcostellojr@nmmlaw.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know what certain words mean, particularly in the context of family.\u00a0 We know who our spouse is, who our children are, and who our grandchildren are.\u00a0 But sometimes it\u2019s not that simple, and it becomes necessary to go beyond written words to determine someone\u2019s true intention. A recent New Jersey case, In re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2,31],"tags":[77,45,92,113,80,35,30],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nI was Excluded as a Beneficiary, but Don\u2019t Think it was Intended; am I out of Luck? 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