Battle Continues Over Brooke Astor’s Estate
October 3, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
An estate battle over conflicting versions of the will of Brooke Astor — who gave away millions of dollars to charity over her lifetime and died in August at age 105 — may drain a significant portion of her charitable bequests to pay ongoing litigation costs, reports the Associated Press.
The two wills in question were signed in 1997 and 2002. The 1997 version allocates, among other bequests, $16.5-million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library, while the 2002 version allocates a substantially decreased $5.28-million to each group. Judge Anthony Scarpino is residing over the case in a surrogate court in White Plains, New York.
Annette de la Renta, a court-appointed guardian and friend of Ms. Astor, says that the 1997 will was the last one Ms. Astor signed while competent. She is backed by Ms. Astor’s grandson, Philip Marshall.
Mr. Marshall’s father, Anthony Marshall, hopes the judge will approve the 2002 version.
Talks in the dispute have stalled and will not resume until a public session in mid-October.
