Constructive Trust Claims

Constructive trust claims regularly arise in trusts and estates litigation. Based upon a recent decision that Suffolk County Surrogate Vincent J. Messina, Jr. issued, in which the Surrogate found that a constructive trust should be imposed on certain assets, I write to provide a short summary of the law that governs constructive trust claims, and how Surrogate Messina applied that law in the case that he decided.

When a party acquires legal title to property in a manner in which good conscience prevents that party from maintaining a beneficial interest in the property, equity can convert the legal title owner into a trustee who holds the property for the benefit of another party who rightfully has a beneficial interest in the property under a constructive trust theory (Matter of Mantia, File No. 2019-4334/B, Decision and Order, dated Sept. 30, 2025 [Sur Ct, Suffolk County] [Messina, S.]). A "constructive trust is an equitable remedy whose purpose is to prevent