Seidel v. Werner
Supreme Court of New York, Special Term for New York County
364 N.Y.S.2d 963 (1975)
Steven Werner held a testamentary power of appointment over half his father's trust, and in a separation agreement with his second wife Harriet (defendant), promised to exercise that power in favor of their children Anna and Frank (defendants), with the trust property held for their benefit until age 21 and reverting to Steven's estate if they didn't survive him. Steven instead died with a will exercising the power in favor of his third wife, Edith (defendant); the trustees (plaintiffs) sought a declaratory judgment on who was entitled to the trust share, and Harriet, Anna, and Frank argued that even if Steven's promise was unenforceable, it should be treated as a release of his power, which would trigger the trust's default provision distributing assets to his children.
Whether, under New York law, an unenforceable promise to exercise a testamentary power of appointment is equivalent to a release of that power if the parties did not intend a release and the promise, if enforceable, would not have had the same effect as a release.