Teasdale v. Teasdale
Teasdale v. Teasdale
Opinion of the Court
Findings of fact by the trial court will not be set aside unless they are contrary to the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. Swazee v. Lee (1951), 259 Wis. 136, 47 N. W. (2d) 733; Estate of Witwer (1948), 253 Wis. 536, 34 N. W. (2d) 671. The court found that in fixing the gross cash value of the estate at $327,828.57 the trustees acted arbitrarily and disregarded the testator’s plainly expressed intention to determine the gross cash value on the day prior to death; that they acted so unreasonably that they are found to have acted in bad faith; and that they had in fact already determined that such value was $186,933 as of the date of death and found that such sum was the value of the gross estate on the day preceding death.
We will first consider the trustees’ contention that the court erred in finding that they had previously determined the gross cash value of the estate to be $186,933, and they never made any determination whatever until November 1, 1950, when they reported $327,828.57. It is true, as they say, that the original appraisal was made by appraisers, not by the trustees, and the will contemplated that for the purposes of Item 9-B the judgment of the trustees was to be controlling. The executors’ report to the court and to the department of taxation, on September 14, 1937, however, was not the report of third parties but of two of the three persons who are now trustees. In reporting the market value as of the day of death, January 14, 1936, they might feel bound to report the figures determined by the appraisers, but they were not required to state under oath that to the best of their knowledge, information, and belief the property was appraised at the clear market value. Indeed, if they knew or believed otherwise it was their duty to say so and was a fraud upon either the state or the heirs to certify the values as they did. Be that as it may when the executors, two of
All this, of course, took place before the estate was settled and the executors were translated into trustees. Nevertheless, the trial court found that the trustees at this time had determined the gross market value to be $186,933. We agree with the court that in such a matter “gross market value” is the equivalent of “gross cash value” but we do not think the evidence sustains the court in finding this to be a determination of value by the trustees, though undoubtedly it is a representation by persons who later became trustees and has a bearing on their good faith. Two of the three individuals who are now trustees did report that $159,378.45 was the clear market value of the estate as of January 13, 1936. They did it as executors and seek to repudiate it as trustees and to substitute a value of $327,828.57. They themselves
The trial court found that the trustees made their determination of value in bad faith. Legitimate, logical inferences from established facts lead to that conclusion. Such facts and inferences are: The original appraisal was an effort by qualified, disinterested persons to determine the value of the estate in money as of the day of death. This stated the
When the trustees took over the residue of the estate on. November 15, 1939, they inventoried the properties as of that date at values corresponding to the original appraised value adjusted to conform to the values used by the tax authorities. This was convenient, perhaps, but not compulsory if the trustees considered the properties had other values. There is no indication that they so considered. These matters certainly are persuasive that in the judgment of the trustees there was nothing materially wrong with the cash or market values of the original appraisal as of January 14, 1936, or with their own estimate, as executors as of January 13, 1936, particularly as modified by the taxation officials. Then came the time of distribution. If the trustees thought they had never determined and stated the gross value of the estate as of January 13, 1936, it would have been convenient and proper for them, as trustees, to adopt and state the value of $159,378.45, which they had certified as executors, or of $186,933, asserted by the tax bodies which they had accepted. They chose to make an independent valuation. The trustee, Mrs. Teasdale, stood to fare better, by reason of the will’s formula, if the value of the estate as of January 13, 1936, was
Having set aside the valuation of the trustees by reason of their bad faith in making it, the court found and determined that the gross cash value of the estate was the same on the day of death and the day preceding it and that such value was $186,933. The appellants contend that there is no evidence to support this particular figure. The support is found in their own report to the county court, as executors, of the increased valuations which the various taxation authorities insisted were the market value of certain properties on the day of death. By adding these increases to the figures first reported by the executors the sum is reached. Whatever is controversial in the calculation favors the appellants. We consider that the evidence supports the finding.
The trustees submit that their discretion in adopting values is conclusive and the court may not substitute other values. The words of the will putting the acts of the trustees beyond review are not to be taken literally; otherwise a trustee would have power to destroy the trust. The words do dispense with the standard of reasonableness in judging the trustee’s conduct but do not permit him to act dishonestly or act in a state of mind in which the trustor did not contemplate he would act. The courts will not permit him to act dishonestly or from some motive other than the accomplishment of the purposes of the trust. See Restatement, 1 Trusts, p. 488, sec. 187. When the court found that the trustees in the present case acted in bad faith it became the court’s duty to see that the purposes of the trust were accomplished. It did this by determining the gross cash value at the highest point which the evidence would permit. This was not error, in our opinion, and the court having so determined, the trustees
Passing to the dispute concerning salaries paid to the trustees, the trust estate owned ninety-seven per cent of the capital stock of the Monroe County Telephone Company, six hundred forty-three shares, appraised at $96,450. With such control the trustees elected themselves the principal officers of the company and established their own salaries. For a time Howard Teasdale managed the company. After his resignation a manager was hired. Mrs. Teasdale spent many months each year in Texas; Mr. Morrill was a schoolteacher in Milwaukee, Mrs. Morrill was a housewife. Mrs. Teasdale held office for fifteen years and was paid $47,825. Mr. Morrill received $44,358 for fifteen years’ incumbency; Mrs. Morrill got $3,200 for five years. The annual amounts varied, smaller in the earliest years and greater in recent ones. The court took testimony concerning services rendered and found the salaries were excessive. It found that $27,000 would have been fair and reasonable compensation for the labors of Mrs. Teasdale; $9,000 in the case of Mr. Morrill; and $1,500 in the case of Mrs. Morrill. It found, further, that the excess over these amounts belonged to the trust estate, not the telephone company, and surcharged
The trustees also asked the court to allow them $25,000 as trustees’ fees over the eleven years of the trust. The trial court allowed $12,000 and they have appealed from that, also.
The compensation which Mrs. Teasdale, Mr. Morrill, and Mrs. Morrill are allowed as officers of the telephone company and as trustees must be considered together. The interests of the trust estate might and probably did require the trustees to participate in the management of the telephone company. In such management the individuals were still trustees and accountable as such. In this respect the present case is much like Estate of Peabody (1935), 218 Wis. 541, 546, 260 N. W. 444. In Estate of Peabody, we held, page 548, that the combined salaries from the corporation and fees as trustees should provide a reasonable compensation for the service rendered to the trust estate. The trial court there found the combined compensation unreasonable and ordered the excess paid to the trust estate. The surcharge feature of the judgment was not discussed in the opinion and the case is not authority for surcharging the account of the trustees in favor of the trust estate. Such authority, however, is found in In Re Smythe’s Estate (1942), 36 N. Y. Supp. (2d) 605, 613, where an excessive salary to an executor who operated an incorporated business for the estate was surcharged upon him and ordered paid to the estate. In the Peabody Estate matter, we recognized that when fiduciaries perform services not customarily required of them they are entitled to fair compensation but held that their compensation from all sources should not exceed a reasonable allowance for the services they have rendered to the trust by reason of all their activities. 54 Am. Jur., Trusts, p. 420, sec. 532, citing the Peabody Case, supra, states the matter thus, “But in the case of a trusteeship operating a business, the rule is that since the trustees in operating the
In the instant case the trustees are not professionals in the telephone business, nor even professional business executives. Obviously they are not the sort of people whom a telephone company would employ, part time on a commercial basis in the open market, to be president, secretary, and treasurer of the corporation. They held those positions because they controlled the stock, set the salaries, and elected themselves to the offices. On cross-examination they revealed a lack of knowledge of the details of the business for which, nominally, they were the executive officers. It was not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to decline to apply to them the standards of compensation fit for competent career men in such positions.
In its memorandum decision the learned trial court frequently referred to Estate of Peabody, supra. Trustees there operated a mercantile business which was trust property. In the opinion at page 546 (218 Wis.), we said: “ . . . because
The plan of liquidation and distribution proposed by the trustees was predicated upon the court’s acceptance of their determination of value. That being disapproved and new values substituted they should be released from the plan and given the opportunity to submit other procedures for the approval of the county court if they so desire.
The learned trial court postponed allowance of attorneys’ fees pending statements for services rendered. In so doing the court called attention to Will of Matthews (1921), 174 Wis. 220, 224, 182 N. W. 744, in which we said that an allowance of $3,500 appeared to be the maximum allowance permissible to attorneys in the probate of an estate of
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed and cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The brief of respondent Loretta Teasdale exceeds fifty pages and counsel has made application to tax printing costs of the entire brief. Such permission is granted, under Rule 10 {sec. 251.264, Stats.).
The following memorandum was filed June 3, 1952:
070rehearing
{on motion for rehearing). The mandate is amended to provide that such credits as the trustees may have shall be offset against the surcharge. Other relief sought by appellants is denied. No costs to be taxed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Estate of Teasdale: Teasdale (Flora) and Others, Appellants, vs. Teasdale (Howard) and Others, Respondents
- Cited By
- 14 cases
- Status
- Published