Tag Archives: trusts

One person is the biggest loser – Settlement of the Huguette Clark will dispute

Awhile ago we told you about Huguette Clark, a reclusive multimillionaire who died at the age of 104. 

She wrote two wills about six weeks apart.  In the first one, she left the majority of her $300 million estate to her relatives, many of whom she had not seen in many years and some who she had never met.  The second will directly cut out all of her relatives and left $30 million to her private duty nurse, Hadassah Peri, gifts to her lawyers and accountants and funds to create an arts foundation at her $85 million mansion, Bellosguardo, in Santa Barbara, CA.

Some of her relatives contested the will, claiming that she had been unduly influenced by her caretakers.  The case was supposed to go to court but, just as jury selection was about to begin, the case was settled out of court.  An 81-page settlement agreement was presented to the judge and was approved.

19 heirs of Huguette Clark will receive $34.5 million with estate taxes and $11.5 million in attorney fees paid by the estate.  Another big winner in the settlement is the charitable arts foundation that will be created to maintain Bellosguardo.

The biggest loser is her nurse.  Hadassah Peri will not receive the $30 million she was given in the first will and, in fact, will have to pay back $5 million of the $31 million she was given during Huguette Clark’s lifetime.

Those of you who read this blog may not have $300 million and so may think that having a good will, written when there is no question of your mental state, may not be that important.  But it is.  Unless you want your family to have to go to court and fight for what they think they deserve, put your wishes in writing NOW and, if possible, share those wishes with your loved ones so they will know what to expect and can ask any questions they may have….while you can still answer them.

For more information about wills and other issues related to end of life planning, go to www.diesmart.com.

 

What is the responsibility of a trustee?

What is the responsibility of a trustee?

When creating a trust managing family affairs,  many of us designate a family member to serve as the trustee.      A surviving spouse.   The eldest child.  In many cases, a family member does this job without compensation.

If you have agreed to serve as a trustee, you may not really know what you just agreed to do.     You might even assume there is no legal risk in agreeing to serve as a trustee.

It’s not easy to find articles describing the job of a trustee that is not filled with legalese.   This articled titled “A Novice Trustee Primer”  does a great job of describing the responsibilities of a trustee and is is recommended reading  if you have a trust, are thinking about setting up a trustee, or if you have agreed to serve as a trustee.