Sen. Dianne Feinstein Claims She Is A Victim Of Financial Elder Abuse In Lawsuit
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In a lawsuit filed on her behalf, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has alleged that she is a victim of financial elder abuse by the trustees overseeing her late husband’s estate.
The 90-year-old’s daughter, Katherine Feinstein, filed the suit earlier this month in a bid to remove the trustees, claiming that they are not doing their jobs and are seeking to improperly enrich other people, as the San Francisco Chronicle was first to report Tuesday.
Dianne Feinstein raised eyebrows in Washington earlier this summer when it was revealed that she’d handed her daughter limited power of attorney. The senator had been absent on Capitol Hill for more than two months earlier this year due to a shingles diagnosis, which reportedly led to several alarming complications — raising new questions about her advanced age and fitness to serve.
In late July, she appeared confused during Senate Appropriations Committee proceedings. She announced in February that she would not seek reelection.
Feinstein’s wealthy husband, former investment banker Richard Blum, died last year at the age of 86 and left behind a fortune. His net worth was once estimated at $1 billion, although sources told The New York Times that his investments in hotels were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recent lawsuit, filed Aug. 8, alleged that Blum’s estate trustees have neglected to fund a $5 million “subtrust” meant for Feinstein so that more money can be left for Blum’s daughters, “who stand to inherit millions of dollars that should go to Senator Feinstein if the Trustees never make the required distributions to her.” The funds were supposed to help with Feinstein’s medical expenses, the suit said.
It’s one of at least three lawsuits Feinstein has filed against the trustees in recent months.
Blum and Feinstein married in 1980. He had three daughters from an earlier marriage, while Katherine Feinstein is the senator’s only child, shared with former husband Jack Berman.
Steven Braccini, an attorney representing two of the trustees, told the Chronicle that they never denied any request made on the senator’s behalf. But the lawsuit said that ignoring requests amounts to a de facto denial.
Braccini told the newspaper that his clients “have acted ethically and appropriately at all times; the same cannot be said for Katherine Feinstein.”
