Epstein may have gamed the system from beyond the grave

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Epstein may have gamed the system from beyond the grave

By CURT ANDERSON
August 21, 2019

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The will that Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577 million in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages.

Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the trust and dividing up the financier’s riches is not going to be easy and could take years.

“This is the last act of Epstein’s manipulation of the system, even in death,” said attorney Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims.

Epstein, 66, killed himself Aug. 10 in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The discovery of the will with its newly created 1953 Trust, named after the year of his birth, instantly raised suspicions he did it to hide money from the many women who say he sexually abused them when they were teenagers.

By putting his fortune in a trust, he shrouded from public view the identities of the beneficiaries, whether they be individuals, organizations or other entities. For the women trying to collect from his estate, the first order of business will be persuading a judge to pierce that veil and release the details.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/e30672dbb3204c22b9b40e9303e9d288

[Autumn]

1. He was suicidal and not of sound mind. nt

[ecstatic]

3. Suicidal depression doesn't preclude

someone from strategic financial planning and a variety of other tasks that require logic and reason. In some ways, depression is a state of being too logical for your own good.

[Autumn]

4. That's too bad.

[Baltimike]

7. but they DO show mental illness, thus, not being of a sound mind. nt

[former9thward]

11. That is stuff from TV and the movies.

Courts do not turn over wills on that basis. Epstein had a team of lawyers he was meeting with on a daily basis before he died. It will not be overturned because of a lack of a "sound mind".

[Baltimike]

17. that will depend on what the doctors who examined him say, not any tv or movie

but I mean...if you say so

[former9thward]

19. No, it will depend on what lawyers say in court.

That is what the judge -- who is a lawyer -- listens to.

[StarfishSaver]

20. The judge will rule on the evidence. The lawyers give arguments, not evidence.

The doctors' testimony will be the evidence the judge will rule on. The lawyers on both sides - Epstein's and the plaintiffs' - will make arguments about what that evidence means and how the judge will rule on it. It's the evidence that matters.

[former9thward]

22. Oh wow, such an education on what happens in court.

I never had any idea.

[StarfishSaver]

23. Well, now you know

You're welcome.

[Princess Turandot]

8. In order to challenge a will, you first need legal standing..

His brother has standing to do so because he would have been his legal heir had Epstein died without any will. There are also some other circumstances which could give someone standing, such as being named as a beneficiary in an older will only to be later cut out of a new one. (Someone would need to know that they were left something in an older will for that to be relevant.)

Of course, having standing doesn't mean that you actually have cause to challenge the will under the law in one's state. Even with his subsequent suicide, there's nothing at all odd about establishing this type of trust for estate distribution purposes.

[mopinko]

2. any judge that honors that trust should be run out of town on a rail.

[former9thward]

13. The trust is legal.

If a judge did not honor it he would be sanctioned. The law does not look at someone's morals or ethics.

[mopinko]

14. well, you are assuming it is legal, but it hasnt been tested in court, so

perhaps it has fatal errors. i dont know what that would be, but...

and morals and ethics, no. but crimes? if the money was illegally obtained?
i suspect the irs might want to take a look at it, too.

[former9thward]

24. Epstein has been around for decades.

If the IRS has not looked at his taxes they are pretty negligent. You can't wait until someone dies and then say "Oh, you committed fraud 30 years ago".

[CreekDog]

18. All your posts today are to defend a trust that Epstein had set up days before he died

A trust you haven't seen nor reviewed.

What an interesting thing to be defending here without any specific knowledge of the document that you're defending.

What an interesting way to spend one's time.

What an interesting hobby you have here. Or is it a hobby?

I'm not suggesting you're paid to post this stuff since the quality of what you post is so lacking, I highly doubt there would be anyone willing to pay for it.

But such an interesting selection of topics. Quite a hobby.

[former9thward]

21. At least my hobby is not checking what other people have posted everyday.

Why is it that you find it incredible on a internet discussion board that people put out opinions? No one here has seen the trust/will yet many are attacking it as invalid. Why is it ok for them to have that opinion but someone else should not post something different? How come you are not complaining about them? Well, I know the answer. Enjoy your day....

[marble falls]

5. Try robbing a bank and putting the money into trust. a bunch of lawyers might make some money ....

over it but that trust will be broken. Could Bernie Madoff held onto his stolen bucks by putting it into trust?

[Igel]

9. Robbing a bank means the money's illegally obtained.

I've heard rumors, but few have produced any evidence that was true of Epstein. Those rumors also tend to look backward quite a few years, which would lead anybody to wonder, "If it was embezzled, why only mention it *after* the embezzler's death when there's no good possibility of defense? Maybe because then there is no good possibility of defense?"

As for the victims, first the victims would have to prove victimhood; then they'd have to lodge a claim against Epstein's assets.

[marble falls]

12. And Epstein has outstanding lawsuits dating before his trust as well as accusations ...

and action regarding the sources of his money as well as claims he avoided income taxes. He made have made recovery messy, he didn't make it impossible.

[BigmanPigman]

6. His brother may not see that money in the future either...HA!

Last edited Wed Aug 21, 2019, 10:37 PM - Edit history (1)

"Eyes are now on Jeffrey Epstein’s younger brother, Mark, who was named Epstein’s single heir in the will he signed two days before his death by suicide. Epstein’s fortune has been placed in a trust, so Mark might not see the cash. Meanwhile, new alleged victims of Epstein are filing lawsuits to get a piece of the estate."

https://www.msnbc.com/velshi-ruhle/watch/what-happens-to-jeffrey-epstein-s-vast-fortune-66888261609

https://www.today.com/video/spotlight-turns-to-jeffrey-epstein-s-younger-brother-66863173954

[Sgent]

10. We don't know who

the beneficiaries of the trust are -- but the beneficiaries do (or will shortly). Its entirely possible the beneficiary is his brother and the trust is being used as a legal tool to try and prevent future liabilities (ie filed or unfiled lawsuits by victims) from being easy to collect.

[bluestarone]

15. THIS is so fucking wrong!

Again the rich get protection! MONEY fucking talks that is for sure! His fucking lawyers are accomplices in my eyes!

[Hoyt]

16. I'm betting women he abused, who can establish that, will receive some sizable

settlements without a lot of extra trouble. Not sure it’ll be enough for being abused by that creep, but it will help.