The will that disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577m in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages˳
Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the trust and dividing up the financier’s riches is not going to be easy and could take years˳
“This is the last act of Epstein’s manipulation of the system, even in death,” said attorney Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims˳
Epstein, 66, killed himself on 10 August in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges˳ The discovery of the will with its newly created 1953 Trust, named after the year of his birth, instantly raised suspicions he did it to hide money from the many women who say he sexually abused them when they were teenagers˳
By putting his fortune in a trust, he shrouded from public view the identities of the beneficiaries, whether they be individuals, organizations or other entities˳ For the women trying to collect from his estate, the first order of business will be persuading a judge to pierce that veil and release the details˳
From there, the women will have to follow the course they would have had to pursue even if Epstein had not created a trust: convince the judge that they are entitled to compensation as victims of sex crimes˳ The judge would have to decide how much they should get and whether to reduce the amounts given to Epstein’s named beneficiaries, who would also be given their say in court˳
“Wealthy people typically attempt to hide assets in trusts or other legal schemes˳ I believe the court and his administrators will want to do right by Epstein’s victims, and if not, we will fight for the justice that is long overdue to them,” said attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents several Epstein accusers˳
She said attorneys for the women will go after Epstein’s estate in the US Virgin Islands, where the will was filed and where he owned two islands˳
Bloom said it was “gross negligence” on the part of Epstein’s lawyers and jail personnel to allow him to sign a new will, given that he had apparently attempted suicide a short time before˳ Bloom called a will “a classic sign of impending suicide for a prisoner”˳
But some tax experts have questioned the validity of the will, which could be challenged if it is deemed improperly witnessed or executed˳
“It is far from a given that Mr Epstein possessed mental capacity,” Pace University law professor Bridget Crawford told CBS˳“You need to make sure there was no fraud, no undue influence, no duress˳”
The assets listed in the 20-page document include more than $56m in cash; properties in New York, Florida, Paris, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands; $18˳5m in vehicles, aircraft and boats; and art and collectibles that will have to be appraised˳
Epstein’s only known relative is a brother, Mark Epstein, 65, who has not responded to requests for comment˳
It is unclear whether he was named a beneficiary and has remained an elusive figure, though the brothers were connected through various financial dealings˳
When Epstein was seeking bail on sex trafficking charges in July, Mark Epstein offered to put up a Florida house valued, according the Wall Street Journal, at $100,000 – a fraction of the $100m Epstein offered as security˳
The brothers were also linked through a 200-unit condo in Manhattan that was once owned by Epstein’s biggest client, the Victoria’s Secret founder Leslie Wexner˳ Mark Epstein was once listed in corporate records as president of an Epstein-affiliated holding company˳
The executors of Epstein’s estate are named as his longtime lawyers Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn˳
Epstein also named the biotech venture capitalist Boris Nikolic as a backup executor˳ Nikolic, a former science adviser to Bill Gates, told Bloomberg he was “shocked” to find out he was named and would not fulfill the duties, if he was called on˳
Nicolic is among a number of science-related figures whom Epstein sought to cultivate in recent years but who are now at pains to distance themselves˳ Last week, Joi Ito, director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, apologized for the lab’s ties to Epstein˳
Under any circumstances, untangling Epstein’s financial affairs is likely to be costly and time-consuming˳ According to US tax code, the estate can only be taxed once all claims against it have been settled˳
Given the growing number of claims against Epstein’s estate, the trust could be wound up if there is nothing left to fund it˳ Crawford estimates it could up to a decade to sort out˳
