Broadcasts.com - "June 2019 - Henderson v Cook Trustee etc" (Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of Virginia)

Published: June 30, 2019, 9:39 p.m.

This podcast is provided by Ben Glass and Steve Emmert

Granted Appeal Summary

Case

MONI HENDERSON v. STEPHANIE P. COOK, TRUSTEE AND CONSERVATOR FOR THOMAS E. NOOJIN (Record Number 180772)

From

The Circuit Court of Botetourt County; M. Trumbo, Judge.

Counsel

Sidney H. Kirstein for appellant.

Monica Taylor Monday (Gentry Locke LLP) for appellee.

Assignments of Error

As a matter of law, the circuit court erred by accepting a direct submittal of the fiduciary’s seventh and final accountings for the Noojin Living Trust and the Noojin Estate and by delegating unto the commissioner of accounts the right to enter a final and unreviewable approval of the said accountings.

The circuit court erred by adopting a procedure for the review and approval of the said accountings which deprived the beneficiaries of the trust and the estate any meaningful opportunity and due process to review and challenge the fiduciary’s billings set forth in said accountings.

The circuit court’s procedural errors caused it to err substantively by awarding Ms. Cook legal fees for performing non-legal administrative duties performed by Ms. Cook in her role as trustee and conservator.

The circuit court subsequently erred when it ruled that the December 29, 2017 order was not a final order as of that date.

If this court determines that Ms. Henderson’s written statement of facts and testimony was not properly certified as accurate, the circuit court erred in failing to grant a new trial.