Trust Expert Explains Why Caneiro's Entire Family Had to Die for Paul to Inherit

Keith Caneiro named his brother Paul as trustee of his family's irrevocable trust. Paul and their youngest brother Corey were 50/50 contingent beneficiaries. They only inherit one way: if Keith, Jennifer, and both children are all dead.

Today the prosecution called a trust attorney to explain exactly how that works. The expert walked the jury through the legal structure, the fiduciary duties Paul owed to Keith's family, and New Jersey's "slayer statute," which prevents anyone convicted of intentional killing from inheriting from their victim. The defense pushed back hard, arguing that Paul had no formal training as a trustee, that trust law is genuinely complicated, and that the brothers' 20-year business relationship created informal understandings about how things were handled.

The prosecution ended with a question that hangs over this entire trial: Who benefits if they're all dead?

⏰ KEY MOMENTS

00:00 - Trust attorney takes the stand
20:09 - Expert qualified, begins explaining trust structure
27:15 - Who inherits if Keith's family survives vs. if they don't
56:36 - Can misappropriation of trust funds be theft?
1:02:34 - Defense cross begins: No test required to be a trustee
1:58:44 - The "slayer statute" explained
2:02:01 - "Only way Paul benefits is if they're all dead"

FROM THE DESK OF JUSTICE:
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CASE BACKGROUND REPORT:
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📖 CASE BACKGROUND

November 20, 2018: Firefighters found Keith Caneiro, 50, shot five times on his front lawn. Inside the burning mansion: his wife Jennifer, 45, and children Jesse and Sophia, all stabbed. The children died from smoke inhalation.

Hours earlier, a fire broke out at Paul's home eleven miles away. Prosecutors call it a "ruse" to divert suspicion. The motive: Keith had discovered Paul stealing from their businesses and family trusts, and sent an email cutting off Paul's $225,000 salary the night before.

Paul Caneiro, 59, has been jailed without bail for over seven years. If convicted, he dies in prison.

📂 PLAYLISTS & RESOURCES

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► Key Moments:    • KEY MOMENTS AND TESTIMONY: NJ v. PAUL CANEIRO  
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⚖️ ABOUT JUSTICE IS A PROCESS

This channel continues the work of Steven M. Askin, a criminal defense attorney disbarred in 1998 for refusing to violate attorney-client privilege, then criminally convicted in 2010 for teaching people their constitutional rights from a coffee shop. He passed away in February 2024, but not before he and I started this channel together.

I am Steven M. Askin II. I am not an attorney. I am a watchdog. I cover trials to educate the public about due process, presumption of innocence, and constitutional protections.

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