Handelsman v. Handelsman

Defendants, Gary Handelsman and Robin Gould, the adult children of decedent, Richard A. Handelsman, appeal a grant of summary judgment (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1005(c) (West 2004)) to plaintiff, Susan Handelsman, Richard’s widow. The parties are beneficiaries of the Richard A. Handelsman Revocable Trust (Trust). Using extrinsic evidence of Richard’s intent, the trial court held that the document creating the Trust (Trust Agreement) requires that (1) if the corpus of the Trust is insufficient to pay the bequests to plaintiff and defendants, plaintiffs bequest must be satisfied to the extent possible…