Yet, how much thought went into defining the purpose of the Leona B. and Harry M. Charitable Trust? Is my memory wrong?You are absolutely right. She was survived by four grandchildren and her brother, though they would not be the primary beneficiaries of her largess. The Court ordered a $10,000,000 haircut to Trouble’s trust, leaving the snappy little pooch a paltry $2,000,000. There were other problems, too, such as compression of time. Were such acts of benevolence an attempt to curry favor with our Maker, or to spite individuals who wouldn’t inherit the motherload?
I direct my Executor to give Ten Thousand ($10,000) Dollars from my estate to the person who accepts Snowy, and any of my other animals. The question is what did Leona intend? That’s not the point. Leona sued, seeking to disinter the body claiming the Bronx Cemetery no longer provided perpetual beauty and peaceful solitude, but instead had become an eyesore.Leona’s protests and pleadings worked. But on this morning, the hearse went one way, and the limousine carrying the son and two of the five siblings went another way. But instead, the first and second amended mission statements lacked any such forethought. Hours later, he returned to the basement, plot deed in hand and assured his father he can and will rest in peace.
His head was removed in neuroseparation surgery, a procedure that billed John Henry $120,000 plus $16,000 for the cost of flying the body to Arizona. And again the question was, what did she intend. On a cold dog day afternoon in February 2009 the New York County Surrogate’s Court issued an Order. So to close this loophole, Congress enacted the generation skipping transfer tax. Just ask the Robertson’s. Four were to be appointed by Princeton University and three by the Robertson family, including naming Charles Robertson as Chairman of the Foundation who dutifully served until his death in 1981.
Leona Helmsley bequeathed all her estate to the trust, except for the $12 million that went to her now deceased dog. Again, absolutely not.On April 21, 2009, the trustees of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust gave $136,000,000 to hospitals, medical foundations and homeless programs. In Article 6Her beloved husband, Harry, predeceased her. His wife Marie inherited a fortune through her grandfather, the founder of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company now known as A&P. The trustees shall make appropriate arrangements for the proper care of my animals, including veterinary care, during their lives. Their residences which included a nine-room New York City penthouse with a swimming pool overlooking Central Park; a private estate in Greenwich Connecticut called Dunnellen Hall, a Palm Beach getaway and a mountaintop hideaway near Phoenix. A few million to fullfill her vague request to “help dogs” shouldn’t be out of the question. If her estate was valued, after administration costs, at $5,000,000,000 less the $2,000,000 federal estate exemption amount, her estate tax liability could have exceeded $2,200,000,000. But the mechanics of moving a body at rest isn’t so easy. The Hall of Famer’s head and body are being stored in separate containers.
United States Humane Society is established and could put it to good use, versus humans who want money out of greed. It was a ridiculous charge for both men.As an aside, the grandchildren probably had no use for Leona and probably hated her, so it is says a lot about the kind of people they are that they felt somehow entitled to her money. Harry’s remains were disinterred and moved uptown into a $1,400,000 mausoleum at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Westchester, New York. So to better illustrate the point, if your estate was valued at $3,000,000 as a constant, from 1997 through 2013, then your federal estate tax liability could be estimated as follows:Families who have accumulated modest wealth don’t know if they should anticipate being subjected to the estate tax and planning their estates accordingly, or spin the wheel and hope to die in a year that their estate can pass free of federal estate tax.
Together, Harry and Leona owned, in whole or part, the Empire State Building, 230 Park Avenue, the Tudor City apartment Complex, the New York Helmsley Hotel, The Ritz Carlton hotels, The Helmsley Windsor, the Harley Hotel chain, The Carlton House hotels, the Helmsley Middletowne and as well as various Florida resorts to name only a few of the properties collectively valued at approximately $5,000,000,000 give or take.Though prior to marriage Harry lived a quiet, humble lifestyle, after the marriage to Leona they lived a lifestyle worthy of royalty. Usually the words “quick and efficient” are not associated with litigation. The dogs were left out in the cold and distributions were left entirely to the discretion of the trustees. In the eyes of our Maker, does the Benevolent Queen of Mean get a pass?