In re Martin B.
Surrogate's Court of New York County
841 N.Y.S.2d 207 (2008)
Trustees managing seven trusts created by Martin B. in 1969 sought court guidance on whether the trusts' post-conceived grandchildren qualified as 'issue' and 'descendants' eligible for distributions. Martin's son James had preserved sperm during his life with instructions letting his wife Nancy use it at her discretion after his death; James died in July 2001, and Nancy later gave birth to two sons — James Mitchell and Warren — conceived using that preserved sperm, three and five years after James's death, with the remaining sperm since destroyed. Martin B. himself died days after James, and his trusts gave the trustees discretion to distribute assets to his 'issue' and 'descendants' during his widow Abigail's lifetime. The trustees asked the court whether James Mitchell and Warren counted as Martin B.'s issue and descendants.
Whether, where a transferor limits a beneficiary class to 'issue' or 'descendants,' post-conceived children have the same rights as a natural child conceived during the decedent's lifetime.