Court Refuses To Expand Powers Of Astor’s Appointed Guardian
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A judge yesterday denied a bank’s request to expand its powers as guardian of philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor’s estate to investigate whether her son and others mishandled at least $18 million of her assets.
State Supreme Court Justice John E. Stackhouse denied JPMorgan Chase’s request to issue subpoenas for testimony and documents and start litigation to recover Mrs. Astor’s assets wherever the bank thought appropriate.
The judge said the bank’s request “appears both overzealous and premature at this time, however well intentioned.”
“The bank was appointed to serve in a limited role as the temporary custodian of Mrs. Astor’s property … until the underlying issues in the guardianship proceeding are determined,” he said.
The key underlying issue is whether the 104-year-old society grande dame was mentally competent to make decisions about her affairs. The judge said he will begin a competency hearing for Mrs. Astor on that issue on October 13.
The judge allowed the bank to continue using the accounting services of Eisner LLP, which said it had found transfers of Mrs. Astor’s $18 million in assets for the benefit of her son, Anthony Marshall, his wife, Charlene Marshall, or entities he owned or controlled and “these transfers cannot legitimately be explained.”
Yesterday’s ruling by the judge, who is overseeing the dispute over the society doyenne’s $82 million estate, is the first he has made public in the case. It was a reply to requests that grew out of his July 21 order.
That order granted the petition of Marshall’s son, Philip Marshall, which asked the court to void Anthony Marshall’s right to make decisions for Mrs. Astor. Philip Marshall said his father was neglecting Mrs. Astor while looting her estate.
Anthony Marshall, 82, denies he improperly took anything from his mother or made any changes in her financial affairs against her wishes.
The judge removed Anthony Marshall from Mrs. Astor’s affairs, along with a lawyer he had hired, Francis X. Morrissey, and appointed JPMorgan Chase guardian of Astor’s property and Annette de la Renta guardian of her physical well-being.
Anthony Marshall, meanwhile, denied the elder abuse charges by his son and asked the judge to let him resume his role as his mother’s decision maker.
The judge denied Mr. Marshall’s request to have his doctor examine Mrs. Astor, but he directed Mrs. de la Renta to keep Mr. Marshall informed about his mother’s medical condition and whereabouts.
He also granted Mr. Marshall’s request to preserve for inspection and production at trial the couch that was mentioned in Philip Marshall’s petition. The petition claimed that Mrs. Astor had been reduced to sleeping in a ragged gown on the filthy, smelly, urine-soaked couch and was subsisting on pureed peas and oatmeal.
After lawyers for Anthony Marshall took photos showing the couch was in good shape, a spokesman for Philip Marshall’s lawyers said the couch had been cleaned.