Estate of Baldwin

Stephen Baldwin's will split his estate evenly between his wife Tracy and his three children from a prior marriage, with the estate's primary asset being a general store; after Baldwin's death, Tracy took full operational control of the store. When the children's mother, McKane (plaintiff), grew concerned about the store's management and asked the executor, Connecticut National Bank (defendant), to supervise Tracy's handling of the business, the bank declined. McKane petitioned the probate court to compel an accounting from Tracy and to surcharge the bank if it had breached its fiduciary duty; the probate court found the bank had met its obligations, and McKane appealed.