Equitable Trust Co. of New York v. Prentice

This is an accounting proceeding involving the construction of a trust instrument and, as construed, its validity. The narrow question presented is whether the due allocation wholly to principal of two true stock dividends by a trustee under a trust, providing income for a life beneficiary with remainders, constitutes an unlawful accumulation under the provisions of section 16 of the Personal Property Law of the State of New York. The learned referee to whom the issues were referred held that such allocation infringed the statute named. We hold to the contrary.

The facts out of which the…