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Family trust amendments led to an inheritance dispute
Violet’s final amendment before her death on October 11, 2009, named three additional beneficiaries: Mid-Rivers Christian Church, Diane Longsdon and Paul Rotermund. The amendment allocated $220,000 to Longsdon, $220,000 to the church and $110,000 to Rotermund. The distributions were made in late 2009 and early 2010. The Steinert brothers challenged the amendments in probate court in January 2010. In July 2013, the circuit court ruled that the original 1994 trust remained valid. On June 4, 2014, the court entered a judgment against Longsdon for the $220,000 she had received, together with statutory interest until payment. An earlier appeal by Longsdon was dismissed in August 2014 after she failed to comply with a special operating rule of the appeals court. In August 2015, the court assigned the trust’s judgment against Longsdon to the original beneficiaries, approved the final accounting and discharged John Maxwell, who had been appointed successor trustee in 2013. In August 2025, the beneficiaries asked the circuit court to revive the August 2015 judgment before its 10-year enforcement period expired. Longsdon objected, arguing that the relevant judgment dated to June 2014, rather than August 2015.
They sought recognition of the original trust, removal of the successor trustee and an accounting of the trust’s assets. This meant the later amendments were ineffective and the distributions made under them could not stand. The trust proceedings continued. Longsdon appealed, but the appellate court affirmed the judgment. The church and Rotermund later settled their respective claims with the trust concerning the distributions. The judgment against Longsdon remained unpaid, leading the beneficiaries to seek its revival.
In its October 20, 2026, ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider Diane Longsdon’s appeal against an order reviving a judgment requiring her to repay the money. Published by Justia, the dispute began with amendments to a family trust created in 1994, according to the court’s opinion. Because she missed the filing deadline, a Missouri trust dispute involving a $220,000 payment ended in a procedural setback for the recipient after an appeals court dismissed her challenge.
The court’s latest decision focused on the appeal deadline, leaving the revived judgment in place rather than reconsidering the original inheritance dispute.