Dianne Feinstein’s ‘Financial Elder Abuse’ Lawsuit: What We Know About The Spat Between The Oldest U.S. Senator And Her Husband’s Estate

by Sara Dorn 

Topline

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s daughter is suing the trustees managing the estate of the senator’s late husband, Richard Blum, alleging “financial elder abuse” and claiming they’ve withheld money from the California Democrat to benefit Blum’s three biological daughters—the latest twist in a spiraling legal dispute between the oldest member of Congress, the trustees and her three stepdaughters.

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, sits in a wheelchair on the Senate Subway on ... [+]

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Feinstein’s daughter Katherine Feinstein, a former San Francisco judge who is serving as the “attorney in fact” for her mother, accused the trustees of Blum’s estate of failing to contribute to their marital trust—which was supposed to hold $5 million for her—in the year-and-a-half since the former investor Blum died from cancer at age 86.

The younger Feinstein alleges the trustees have instead used the money intended for Feinstein to fund trusts for Blum’s three daughters from a previous marriage.

Feinstein’s attorneys first filed a lawsuit in June alleging the three trustees of Blum’s estate, Michael Klein, Marc Scholvinck and Verett Mims, haven’t put any money into the sub-trust intended to benefit Feinstein since his death.

In a third lawsuit filed earlier this month, Katherine Feinstein accuses the trustees of failing to adhere to an agreement that required them to make $1.5 million annual payments to reimburse Feinstein for medical bills, and notes she has incurred “significant medical expenses,” possibly from her bout with shingles earlier this year that kept her away from the Senate for nearly three months.

The lawsuit claims the trustees have instead transferred some of the couple’s jointly owned real estate assets to Blum’s three daughters from a previous marriage and “forgiven [their] indebtedness” to the trust (Blum’s daughters are slated to inherit $22 million each upon Feinstein’s death, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing language from the trust).

Blum, who ran his own investment firm called Blum Capital Partners, married Feinstein in 1980, shortly after she became mayor of San Francisco, and used his wealth to help boost his wife’s political career, spending millions to fund her various campaigns for office.

Blum was a longtime Democratic donor with a circle of powerful friends, including former President Jimmy Carter and the Dalai Lama.

Contra

The trustees told Feinstein in March they had yet to fund the trust because Blum’s “exceptionally complex” estate was still being sorted out, Klein said in a legal filing, according to the Chronicle. Klein also cited the hefty federal estate taxes he had yet to pay on Blum’s behalf and said the trustees couldn’t make payments to the trust until the tax issue was resolved. In a statement to the Chronicle, an attorney for Klein and Scholvinck claimed the trustees have “never denied any disbursement to Senator Feinstein” and called her daughter’s latest lawsuit “unconscionable,” adding “the trustees have always respected Senator Feinstein and always will. But this has nothing to do with her needs and everything to do with her daughter’s avarice.”

Tangent

Blum had a vast real estate portfolio at the time of his death that has become another point of contention between the trustees and Feinstein, including homes in Washington, D.C., California, Stinson Beach outside of San Francisco and Hawaii. Blum also reportedly had partial ownership in the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California that was recently sold for $163 million. Feinstein’s daughter alleges the trustees withheld money from the sale from Feinstein and are stalling to sell the Stinson Beach home because Blum’s daughters want to hold on to the property.

What To Watch For

In the latest lawsuit filed against the trustees earlier this month, Feinstein’s daughter asked the court to issue an order to fund the trust and remove the trustees from Blum’s estate.

Crucial Quote

“This is a private legal matter. Senator Feinstein and her office won’t have any comment,” a spokesperson for Feinstein, Adam Russell, told Forbes.

Key Background

Feinstein became the first female mayor of San Francisco in 1978 and was elected to the Senate in 1992, making her the longest serving female senator in U.S. history. Feinstein, who at 90 is the oldest member of Congress, has dealt with a series of health issues. She was absent from the Senate for nearly three months earlier this year while being treated for shingles, prompting calls for her resignation, primarily from some progressive House Democrats. She returned to Washington visibly frail and in a wheelchair and in a puzzling exchange with reporters, suggested she was never away. Feinstein has also reportedly struggled with memory issues for the past several years, and reports have suggested members of her staff are effectively carrying out some of her official duties on her behalf. Feinstein and her staff have publicly brushed off concerns about her health and she has refused to heed calls for her to step down, vowing to serve out the rest of her term through next year before retiring. Earlier this month, she was hospitalized briefly after falling at her home in San Francisco.

Full Article & Source:
Dianne Feinstein’s ‘Financial Elder Abuse’ Lawsuit: What We Know About The Spat Between The Oldest U.S. Senator And Her Husband’s Estate

See Also:
Feinstein Family Feud Heats Up With New Elder Abuse Lawsuit Against Blum Estate Trustees

Sen. Dianne Feinstein sues trustees in husband’s estate, alleges financial elder abuse