The legal drama surrounding the estate of Brooke Astor has finally come to an end in a Westchester County, New York Surrogate’s Court. Late in March the parties involved in the dispute reached a settlement that will finally allow Ms. Astor’s estimated $100 million estate to be distributed.
Though he had previously been convicted of stealing from his mother in her final years, Ms. Astor’s only son, Anthony D. Marshall, will inherit $14.5 million. This is only half of his original $31 million inheritance. Mr. Marshall, age 87, was convicted three years ago of stealing from his mother as he served as her legal guardian, and was sentenced to one to three years in prison. He is currently appealing the conviction, though the terms of the estate settlement will still be binding regardless of the appeal’s outcome.
As for the rest of Ms. Astor’s estate, it is to be distributed between various educational funds, cultural institutions, as well as a charity created in her name: the Brooke Astor Fund for New York City Education.
The terms of the settlement were largely based on the will Ms. Astor created in 2002. Though she had subsequently made changes in 2003 and 2004, the court nullified those amendments as she had been suffering from dementia at the time.
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