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executed before January 6, 1993. Michael made only the first
three payments required by the terms of the SCIN, but he did not
make those payments until March 8, 1993. All three payments were
untimely.
In an affidavit dated December 29, 1998, Michael stated: "I
was fully able and willing to make all payments due under the
Mortgage Note on a timely basis, but was instructed by my father
to make the payments on a quarterly basis to limit the number of
bank transactions." The only time Michael made such a payment,
however, Michael executed three separate checks, all of which
were separately processed by the drawee bank. Additionally,
Michael changed the dates he had written on all three checks to
match memorandum lines on the checks indicating that each was
intended to reflect payment for one of the first three months of
1993. Moreover, although his father lived until May 12, 1993,
Michael did not make any other payments on the SCIN.
These circumstances persuade us that the conveyance of the
restaurant and retail/office properties from decedent’s trust to
Michael Costanza’s trust was not a bona fide transaction for full
and adequate consideration.
Michael, as trustee of his father’s trust, executed the
documents necessary to transfer that trust’s interest in the
restaurant and shopping center properties to himself. Although
he did so with the full understanding and consent of his father,
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