Results tagged “wills”

The Daily News looks at how the city taxpayers are "on the hook for $20 million," thanks to a Bronx surrogate judge. When people die without wills, the city has public administrators who handle their assets "until the court approves a settlement." While the PAs are supposed to invest conservatively, like in treasury bills, Judge Lee Holzman allowed two administrators invest $20 million in riskier auction-rate securities, which got hammered in this year. The city now how has to pay the heirs their owed money while hoping the securities bounce back--but the lawyers and accountants who handled the transactions get to keep their millions in fees. City Comptroller William Thompson said he was "extremely troubled" taxpayers would "foot the bill for these ill-considered and financially irresponsible decisions."

We've been following the fallout over the late Brooke Astor's will and estate for a while, but today's in-depth article in the NY Times about lawyer Francis Morrissey's numerous clients who put him in their wills is pretty damning. Morrissey was indicted (along with Astor's son Anthony Marshall) on charges if trying to, essentially, loot Astor's estate last month.