Brooke Astor Estate Fight Settles; Her Son Gets Reduced Share of $14.5M Due to Criminal Conviction
After a five-year legal battle that the presiding judge feared could continue on until it ate up most of the $200 million or so in heiress Brooke Astor’s estate, the warring beneficiaries have settled.
The pact frees up $100 million for various charities, and slashes to a mere $14.5 million the amount that Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall will get, after his criminal conviction for looting his mother’s assets, according to the Associated Press and the New York Daily News’ of the Daily Politics blog.
The newspaper also links to a settlement stipulation filed in Westchester County Surrogate’s Court. Surrogate Judge Anthony Scarpino signed it Wednesday.
Astor died in 2007, at age 105, the AP article recounts.The judge said at a hearing in 2007 involving 15 attorneys that the he feared the lawyers “will be happy to litigate this matter to the very end of this stream of money that’s there.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Brooke Astor’s Son & Lawyer are Found Guilty in $60M Estate Fraud Case”
ABAJournal.com: “Brooke Astor’s Son Sentenced to Up to Three Years in Prison”
ABAJournal.com: “Convicted in Trial Over Claimed Siphoning of $60M from Astor Estate, Lawyer Is Disbarred”
ABAJournal.com: “Appeal in Astor Case Cites Jurors’ E-Mail Messages, Legal Analyst’s Fears”
