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

By Ryan King

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is suing to oust the trustees in her late husband’s estate in a bitter feud, alleging elder financial abuse.

The 90-year-old senator filed the suit on Aug. 8, accusing the co-trustees of “wrongfully withholding distributions to which Trust entitles her in bad faith and diverting assets that they should have used to fund” her sub-trust.

Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum, was the former president of equity investment management fund Blum Capital. He died in February of last year with a net worth reportedly close to $1 billion.

Feinstein is calling for a temporary trustee to handle Blum’s trust so that she can gain access to some of those funds.

She has bestowed power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine Feinstein, who pushed the suit on her behalf. 

Dianne Feinstein was also financially well-off independent of her late husband’s assets.

The suit, which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, was slapped against Michael Klein, Marc Scholvinck, and Verett Mims, who are all co-trustees for the estate.

It further alleged that the trustees “funded gifts to Blum’s daughters or forgiven their indebtedness” without giving her the proper notice.

Steven Braccini, a lawyer representing Klein and Scholvinck blasted the lawsuit and contended that Feinstein’s daughter is to blame.

“The trustees have acted ethically and appropriately at all times; the same cannot be said for Katherine Feinstein. This filing is unconscionable,” Braccini said in a statement obtained by The Post.

“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.”

However, Feinstein’s suit countered that was deceitful, alleging that “trustees have failed to respond to any requests for disbursements, which is a de facto denial.”

Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blum married in 1980.

Back in March, Feinstein was informed that Blum’s estate lacked liquidity, which was why she wasn’t accruing funds, per court filings.

Klein previously stated in a separate filing that she was netting $125,000 each quarter due to a lawsuit she filed in June.

The senator’s suit further contended that she’s been unable to get a full accounting of the estate.

Klein had emphasized the “exceptionally complex” nature of Blum’s estate.

Feinstein has also filed two separate lawsuits in June and July, raising complaints about her lack of access to her late husband’s trust, with hearings in the cases slated for Aug. 21 and Sept. 5 respectively.

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