Trusts, Wills & Estates Flashcards
7 cards from real NYLE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Trusts, Wills & Estates flashcards as text
Under New York law, a self-dealing transaction by a trustee (e.g., selling personal property to the trust) is:
Answer: Voidable at the election of the beneficiaries unless authorized by the trust instrument or court order
Self-dealing transactions by a trustee violate the duty of loyalty and are voidable, not automatically void, but require beneficiary consent or court approval to be valid.
Under EPTL 11-1.1(b)(5), absent contrary provisions in the will or court order, an executor's power to sell estate real property at public or private sale is:
Answer: Conferred by statute on every fiduciary by default, without court approval
EPTL 11-1.1(b)(5)(B) authorizes a fiduciary, in the absence of contrary or limiting provisions in the will or court order, to sell estate property at public or private sale on terms the fiduciary considers most advantageous. A will may limit or enlarge these powers.
A New York decedent names her unmarried partner of 10 years as sole beneficiary of her will. Her adult son challenges the will claiming undue influence. The most important factor courts examine is whether:
Answer: The beneficiary had a confidential relationship with the decedent and actively participated in the will's preparation
New York courts focus on whether the alleged influencer had a confidential relationship with the testator and was active in procuring the will, which creates an inference of undue influence.
Under New York EPTL 7-3.4, income of a trust payable to a beneficiary, with no valid direction to accumulate it, that exceeds the amount needed for the beneficiary's education and support is:
Answer: Subject to the claims of the beneficiary's creditors
EPTL 7-3.4 makes trust income in excess of what the beneficiary needs for education and support (where there is no valid direction to accumulate) subject to the claims of the beneficiary's creditors.
Under New York law, a 'pour-over will' works in conjunction with a revocable inter vivos trust to:
Answer: Transfer probate assets into an existing trust at the testator's death
A pour-over will directs probate assets into a pre-existing revocable living trust at death, consolidating administration under the trust.
A New York decedent dies intestate survived only by first cousins on her mother's side and second cousins on her father's side. Under EPTL § 4-1.1, the estate passes to:
Answer: The first cousins only, as the nearest degree of kinship
New York intestacy (EPTL 4-1.1(a)(5)-(6)) stops at the issue of the decedent's grandparents (first cousins and their descendants), split one-half to each side; second cousins descend from great-grandparents and do not take. If there are no takers on one side, that half goes to the other side, so the first cousins on the mother's side take the entire estate.
A trustee of a discretionary New York trust refuses to make any distributions to a beneficiary for five years despite the beneficiary's demonstrated financial need. The beneficiary's best legal claim is that the trustee:
Answer: Abused its discretion by acting in bad faith or failing to consider relevant factors
Even under discretionary trusts, a trustee must exercise discretion in good faith and consider relevant factors; a complete refusal to distribute despite clear need may constitute an abuse of discretion.