Executor Looks to Wind Up Decedent's Westport Business
by
Joseph C. Maya on Apr. 05, 2017
Estate Estate Wills & Probate Estate Trusts
Summary: Blog post on the responsibilities of executors in Connecticut.
To speak with an experienced probate law attorney, please contact the experienced attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. at (203) 221-3100 or at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.
Estate executors can be expected to gather the personal property of the decedent and to administer that property for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Trial court's decision to appoint estate executor as temporary receiver, to wind up a company in which the decedent possessed a 57 percent ownership interest, affirmed. The following facts were relevant. In 2010, the decedent, Yvonne Cuseo, passed away. The probate court appointed Attorney Elliot Warren as the estate executor. The decedent owned a 57 percent ownership interest in the Cuseo Family LLC, which owned property that was leased to A&J Farm Stand LLC. In a codicil to her will, the decedent bequeathed her interest in the Cuseo Family LLC to John, Peter and Albert Cuseo. Attorney Warren filed a motion in Connecticut Superior Court to dissolve and wind up the family LLC and to appoint himself as receiver. The trial court appointed Warren the temporary receiver. Albert Cuseo appealed and argued that the decedent's interest in the family LLC was not a probate asset and that Attorney Warren lacked standing to seek dissolution of the LLC and to bring a receivership action. The Appellate Court found that the decedent's interest in the LLC constituted personal property that became part of her estate when she passed away. Attorney Warren, in his role as the estate executor, had the duty to gather the decedent's personal property and to administer it for the benefit of estate beneficiaries. The decedent's membership interest in a limited liability company qualified as personal property. The Appellate Court found that Attorney Warren possessed standing to bring the receivership action. "The plaintiff, as executor," wrote the court, "had the duty to gather all of the personal property belonging to the estate and to administer it for the benefit of all the estate's beneficiaries subject to the supervision of the Probate Court." Judgment affirmed.
If you have any questions or would like to speak to a probate law attorney about a will, trust, or estate matter, please contact the experienced attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. at (203) 221-3100 or at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.
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Source: Lavine, Estate Executor Sought to Wind up Decedent’s Company, 42 Conn. Law Trib. 22, (May 30, 2016), at 16.