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In re R.J. Wenck Trust
R.J. Wenck Trust, Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Anthony Wenck, Brenda Holt and Kris McDonald, Appellees/Cross-Appellants
Attorney for Appellant/Cross-Appellee
James R. Monroe
Attorney for Appellees/Cross-Appellants
Billy J. Mallory
Trevor A. Jordison
Robert C. Gainer
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Madison County, Martha L. Mertz, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; REVERSED ON CROSS-APPEAL. Heard by Schumacher, P.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (13 pages)
A lifetime beneficiary of a trust appeals the denial of his application for distribution, seeking distribution of remaining 2018 trust net income and a portion of the principal. Trust remaindermen cross-appeal an order for the trust to pay a portion of the lifetime beneficiary’s attorney fees. OPINION HOLDS: There is no remaining 2018 net income to distribute, and the trustee did not abuse his discretion when he denied the lifetime beneficiary’s request for a principal distribution. Accordingly, we affirm on direct appeal. The district court erred by concluding Iowa Code section 633A.4507 (2019) authorized payment of a portion of the lifetime beneficiary’s attorney fees because the attorney’s efforts did not involve administration of the trust. Therefore, we reverse on cross-appeal.
