S-23-0354 In re Eileen Ryan Revocable Trust, Constance Ryan (Appellant) v. Steven Ryan, Personal Representative (Appellee)
Appeal from the County Court for Douglas County, Judge Thomas K. Harmon
Attorneys: Daniel J. Welch and Damien J. Wright (Welch Law Firm, P.C., for Appellant) and David Domina (DominaLaw Group PC LLO for Appellee)
Probate: Reformation of Trust
Proceedings below: Appellant petitioned the county court seeking a reformation of the trust, and the county court granted summary judgment and dismissed Appellant’s petition. On its own motion, the Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The county court erred in interpreting the language of the trust instrument so as to conclude that the amounts distributed from the GRATs in 2009 were includable as part of the settlor’s bequest of $5 million to her children; 2) To the extent the language of the trust instrument includes the GRAT distributions as “Countable Assets,” the county court erred in failing to reform the trust instrument to reflect the settlor’s actual intent that the GRATs were not to be included as “Countable Assets;” and 3) The county court erred in denying Appellant’s Motion in Limine to prohibit the Personal Representative of Dr. Ryan’s Estate from offering evidence or argument on the “Countable Assets” issue.