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In the Matter of the Trust Under the Will of William B. Kron, Sr.
Steven Alan Kron, Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Estate of Douglas Kron, Appellee-Cross-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant
Daniel P. Kresowik
Attorney for Appellee
Joseph T. Moreland and Weijing Wu
Guardian ad Litem
Jay H. Honohan
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Kevin McKeever, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS-APPEAL. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. Partial dissent by Schumacher, J. (13 pages)
The trustee of a testamentary trust appeals the district court’s construction of a will, and a beneficiary cross-appeals from the denial of a motion to remove the trustee. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s resolution of the petition to construe the will, and we affirm the court’s denial of the motion to remove the trustee. PARTIAL DISSENT ASSERTS: I concur with the majority as to all issues affirmed on appeal with the exception of the issue raised on cross-appeal concerning the removal of Steven as trustee. The evidence of Steven’s use of trust funds to pay expenses unrelated to the beneficiaries and self-dealing rises to a material breach. The best interests of the trust and other beneficiaries cannot be safeguarded by leaving Steven in charge of the assets. As such, a new trustee should be appointed.