[Aleksis]

Brooke Astor’s Guardians and Son Battle Over Estate
NY TIMES
By BARBARA WHITAKER

August 23, 2007
WHITE PLAINS, Aug. 22 — Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony D. Marshall, asked a judge on Wednesday to reject a request by his late mother’s court-appointed guardians that they serve as administrators of her estate, saying that they would continue to be hostile and biased against him.
Nearly a dozen lawyers, some representing beneficiaries, appeared at a hearing before Judge Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. in Westchester County Surrogate’s Court.
Lawyers for the guardians, JPMorgan Chase & Company and Mrs. Astor’s close friend, Annette de la Renta, made their case for being appointed temporary co-administrators of her estate, estimated to be worth $132 million, in addition to a trust valued at more than $60 million.
“It is evident there will be a will contest, and it’s in the best interest to appoint someone to hold the fort,” said Les Fagen, one of JPMorgan’s lawyers. “The question is who.”
Mr. Fagen said that the bank had done an effective job as a guardian of Mrs. Astor’s assets for more than a year and that to appoint a new institution would be unnecessarily costly and leave a newcomer to face “a long and steep learning curve.”
Mrs. de la Renta’s lawyer, Paul C. Saunders, said that as a longtime friend of Mrs. Astor’s, she was in a unique position to see that Mrs. Astor’s wishes were carried out.
But in court documents filed Wednesday, Mr. Marshall’s lawyer, Kenneth E. Warner, said those appointments would be a disservice to Mrs. Astor’s estate and prejudicial to Mr. Marshall. He also said that they would undermine Mrs. Astor’s intentions, create a conflict of interest for Mrs. de la Renta and ultimately be contrary to law.
In the case of JPMorgan, specifically, the documents said that the bank did not have any standing to be an administrator of the estate since it did not meet legal requirements to be eligible for the position, like being a beneficiary of the will or a creditor.
Mr. Marshall’s lawyer seemed to save his harshest language for Mrs. de la Renta.
“Any such appointment would simply give Ms. de La Renta the opportunity to pursue the vicious and self-aggrandizing vendetta against Mr. Marshall that she has shown herself committed to thus far,” the documents said.
Mr. Marshall, 83, asked the court to appoint “a disinterested, impartial, independent” administrator.
Lawyers for a number of charities who are beneficiaries of Mrs. Astor’s will also attended the hearing: the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller University and the Pierpont Morgan Library.
The Metropolitan Museum has filed a document with the court saying that it “consents” to the petition made by JPMorgan and Mrs. de la Renta.
In July of last year, Mr. Marshall’s son Philip Marshall, 54, filed a petition in State Supreme Court accusing his father of neglecting Mrs. Astor’s care while enriching himself with her fortune. In December, a judge overseeing the case said that the claims of elder abuse had not been substantiated.
Under a settlement last October, Anthony Marshall and his wife, Charlene, were required to relinquish their positions as co-executors of Mrs. Astor’s estate. It was agreed at the time that any future legal claims against Mr. Marshall would be dealt with in Surrogate’s Court upon Mrs. Astor’s death and left to the discretion of an administrator, to be named by a judge.
Philip Marshall was not in court on Wednesday but weighed in by letter, supporting the application of Mrs. de la Renta, but also offering himself for consideration should she and the bank not be selected.
Judge Scarpino set the next court date for Sept. 4.
On Tuesday, the judge who handled Philip Marshall’s case extended JPMorgan’s role as guardian for 60 days or until an administrator was appointed.
Mrs. de la Renta and JPMorgan have raised questions about Mrs. Astor’s mental competency going as far back as 2001. They have asked the court that her January 1997 will, and not her last will, signed in 2002, be recognized as valid. The later will was more generous to Mr. Marshall.
In the court documents, Mr. Marshall criticized JPMorgan for challenging the 2003 transfer to him of Mrs. Astor’s seaside home in Maine, and $5 million from her. Mr. Marshall’s court papers pointed out that the bank had recently notified his lawyers that they had filed amended tax forms for Mrs. Astor, naming the items taxable income rather than gifts. Consequently, Mr. Marshall could face millions of dollars more in income tax.
“Chase is so reckless, irresponsible and overly zealous in their pursuit of me by this means,” Mr. Marshall said in his papers, adding that “they have even risked criminality.”
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company