A Complete § 76 Trust Statement: Lessons from Bette & Cring

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

A trustee cannot replace a properly requested verified trust statement with a vague balance summary or assume that later inspection of records cures an earlier deficient response.

In Matter of Bette & Cring, LLC v. Brandle Meadows, LLC, 81 A.D.3d 1152 (2011), the Third Department directed the trustee to supply a compliant statement. Later access to records did not moot the earlier demand, and referring the contract dispute to arbitration did not eliminate the statutory information obligation.

The deficiencies included conditional receivables, line-of-credit details, funds received from unit sales, the purposes and contractual basis of payments, and lending-related transfers. Simply saying that funds were not receivable without conditions did not identify what those conditions were.

Use the statutory categories

Review all five categories in Lien Law § 75: receivables, payables, receipts, trust payments and applicable lending transfers. Under § 76, the statement must also identify the people who made or consented to payments and be properly verified.

Check the demand’s eligibility, service and timing. Ordinary beneficiary requests are generally available after the claim has been payable thirty days and no more frequently than monthly; compliance is generally due within ten days. A dispute about entitlement should be addressed through the statutory court procedure rather than silence.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with construction trust fund litigation. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice.