EFTA02654100.pdf

From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 28, 2018 8:26 PM To: Valeria Chomsky Subject: Re: your advice i would not threaten option 4. I w=uld simply say , send me a detailed proposal . ( this will further n=il his over reach , so let him do it. ) On Mon, May 28, 2018 at 4:23 PM Valeria Chomsk= < > wrote: N=am wants to send this letter to Harry. What do you think? =br> Valeria=C24) Forwarded message F=om: Noam Chomsky «= href="mailto target="_blanaga» Date: Mon, May 28, 2018 at 3:43 PM Subject: Fwd: Mari=al Trust To: Valeria Chomsky < <mailtc Letter I would like to send to Harry. I am re-sending the letter below, si=ce it wasn't answered, and I would like to clear up this very painful =ffair -- which I do not understand -- as quickly as possible. To repeat the esse=tials, concerning the marital trust, there are several options discussed i= earlier letters. I won't again review the fact that the marital=trust was set up so that funds would be available to the survivor, with wh=t remains going to the children. Though that is a fact, it seems tha= your interpretation is different, though you have not responded to my rep=ated inquiries about that. But let's put that side. The op=ions seem to be these: 1. You can resign and then you will have no further=obligations and no fears about further liabilities from which you have to =e protected. We can then return to the situation before I appointed =ou as trustee in my place. I will be the trustee. As before, t=ere will be no problems about fiduciary responsibility, no concern about l=ability, no problem about funds that are needed, no lawyers or intrusive i=quiries into finances. Furthermore, you can be assured that after I die most of =he trust will be added to your inheritance. Now that the radical dep=etion of my IRA has been overcome, and I have responsible financial advise=s, there will be limited occasion to access the Trust, and my advisers wil= ensure that there are no distributions from it without my knowledge and t=at other requirements will be honored with regard to interest and other ma=ters. EFTA_R1_01898381 EFTA02654100  2. We can adopt your suggestion, le=ving you in charge, in which case you will ensure that the entire Trust wi=l go to you. To repeat the very simple logic, a few years ago, befor= I found out about it, my IRA was being very seriously depleted. Hal= of the mandatory withdrawal was being distributed to family, the other ha=f was being used to pay management fees and taxes for the entire estate.=C24, Therefore, in order to pay Alex's medical bills and expenses for=Wellfleet, I had to make extra withdrawals with an onerous tax payment.4>=A0 And since I also needed something to live on, I had to make still more =ithdrawals, with even further onerous tax payments. At that point I =sked Max to release some funds from the marital trust for tax relief.40=A0 You refused, demanding an intrusive and insulting financial accounting =hat no one with a shred of dignity would accept -- particularly under thes= remarkable circumstances. It follows that any request without such =ery clear justification will also be refused. So you can be assured =f receiving the entire Trust. I also suggested an improvement: you c=n take all of it right now and we can dissolve the Trust. 3. We can p=rsue my suggestion: divide the Trust right now and dissolve it. To r=peat, there are some arcane tax issues, but can easily be resolved,=as your lawyer can explain to you, with common consent among the beneficia=ies -- which means your consent. 4. I will repeat: "I could pursue legal measures to have the trust used in the manner i= which it was intended. I could also look into the disbursements tha= have been made to family members (so I have learned) without informing me= and could look into why I haven't been receiving any income from the =rust for years (until I finally raised the question), and why investments =ere made the way they were done, yielding long-term returns that would be =f no use for me, highly irregular for an elderly person -- which, as I wro=e you, greatly surprised financial advisers I consulted when I finally beg=n to pay attention. And, furthermore, why I never received any state=ents about what was going on for years, until I finally asked what is goin= on with the trust. And perhaps other matters that evidently concern=you, as shown by your request for protection for past actions. =/span>But I haven't yet shifted to your doma=n and still retain some illusions about family relations." These appear to be t=e options. I hope we can settle this quickly. As I have repeat=dly explained with no response, I cannot expect what my father was able to=enjoy, but at least I would like to end this particular horror as quickly =s possible. Earlier letter below. </=iv> C240 As usual, you ignored everything I wrote and and are =ursuing your own agenda. But this letter is nevertheless very helpfu=. I've been asking you repeatedly to clear the air and say exact=y what you want instead of evading it in one way or another, and this does=come close to that. It also finally explains clearly what I did not =ant to believe about your refusing my request for some funds for taxes a f=w years ago You no doubt recall the circumstances. Unknown to me, my=financial advisers had arranged to rapidly deplete my main source of suppo=t, my IRA, by distributing half of the mandatory withdrawal to family memb=rs and to use the rest for paying management fees and taxes for the entire=estate. That meant that when I paid Alex's expenses, I had to wi=hdraw over the limit, with exorbitant taxes. Same with any other funds for=any family matters, and with Wellfleet 2 EFTA_R1_01898382 EFTA02654101 payments well after I stopped using=the house, again with exorbitant taxes. Of course I also needed to l=ve, so that meant more withdrawals with exorbitant taxes. Under thos= conditions I requested some tax relief from the marital trust -- which, o= course, was established on the understanding that it would be available t= the survivor. Your reaction, to my amazem=nt, was to refuse, even under these remarkable circumstances, by imposing<=pan style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:sm=ll;font-style:normal;font-variant- ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:norma=;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:starttext-indent:0px;te=t- transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-colorrgb(=55,255,255);text-decoration- style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;fl=at:none;display:inline"> absurd conditions that no one with a shred o= dignity could accept, no concern of yours. Of course, no such questions e=er were on even the remote horizon when I was trustee, before choosing you=to replace me, or on any other occasion when I arranged for funds to go to=you, either as an ample inheritance or for regular expenses. <=pan> Your letter now makes your reasoning very clear. Your propos=l is that you should remain in total control, evidently a matter of great =mportance for you. And following your principles, as exhibited with =rystal clarity under even the extreme circumstances just described, you ca= ensure that the funds in their entirety will go to you, though I suppose =n your kindness you might relax your strict regimen slightly when the day =omes, as it must, when I am no longer in a position to retain a shred of d=gnity and to refuse an intrusive and humiliating interrogation. However, there is a simpler way to realize your objectives, even more=fully. You can resign as trustee -- of course possible, just as I di= when I appointed you. We can then agree that you receive the entire=funds right now, instead of waiting until I die, so that you can use them =ight now for whatever purposes you like. Plainly that's more eff=cient, and even more lucrative for you than your suggestion. <=iv> It's true that this is one possible proposal, as you suggest.=/div> Another proposal is the one I suggested. True, there are so=e arcane tax issues, but these can easily be resolved, as your lawyer can =xplain to you, with common consent among the beneficiaries -- which means =our consent. <=iv>There are, of course, other possibilities.Q=A0 I could pursue legal measures to have the trust used in the manner in w=ich it was intended. I could also look into the disbursements that h=ve been made to family members (so I have learned) without informing me, a=d could look into why I haven't been receiving any income from the tru=t for years (until I finally raised the question), and why investments wer= made the way they were done, yielding long-term returns that would be of =o use for me, highly irregular for an elderly person -- which, as I wrote =ou, greatly surprised financial advisers I consulted when I finally began =o pay attention. And, furthermore, why I never received any statemen=s about what was going on for years, until I finally asked what is going o= with the trust. And perhaps other matters that evidently concern yo=, as shown by your request for protection for past actions. But I haven't yet shifted to your domain and still retain some illu=ions about family relations. There a=e other matters that I've written to you about several times, with no =esponse, which means I presume that you do not want to hear them. Th=y don't specifically have to do with this matter, so if you have gotte= this far in the letter, you can stop here. But they are on my mind,=and I want to clear the air -- if anyone wishes to look. My father could die in peace, knowing his children would ensure tha= his wife would be taken care of. I don L=3 have that luxury. 3 EFTA_R1_01898383 EFTA02654102  No lawyers or w=rds were necessary. It was simply obvious that we would hand over to=her what there was of an inheritance, the house and everything in it.Q=A0 And of course we were very pleased that he had joy and companionship in=his last years. Valeria and I are very hap=y together, apart from what you are doing, which is naturally extremely pa=nful. She left her friends and family, and a professional life.40=AO I have almost no pension, as I described, and it terminates when I die.=C24, Accordingly, I have to deal with concerns that my father, luckily fo= him, never had to consider. The situation is not=only extremely painful, but in fact surreal. I could never have imag=ned that anything like this would happen in my last years. =orwarded message From: Harry C=omsky < >> Date: Tue, May 22, 2018 at=2:32 PM Subject: Re: Marital Trust To: Noam Chomsky < I'd like to put toge=her a proposal that I think would address some of your needs and ease our =ommunications. The proposal would give you some additional access to=the trust assets. It would also include appointing a new independent=trustee to replace Max. However, it would not terminate the trust, a=d I would remain as one trustee. Are you interest=d in seeing such a proposal? If you feel that it =ould be a good use of everyone's time, I will work with my lawyer Jill=an to write up an outline of what I have in mind. We will send the o=tline to you and Rich, unless you would prefer we send it only to you. You may want to consult a lawyer to learn more about =hy we can't just terminate the trust and split the assets as you sugge=ted. If your lawyer disagrees with Jillian and feels that such a spl=t would be viable, Jillian would be happy to discuss it with your lawyer.<=div> On Mon, May 21, 201= at 12:30 PM, Noam Chomsky < <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Sorry, I made the same er=or as before. I'm finding it hard to shake the illusion that we =re discussing things within a family, and are not characters in Bleak H=use. I'll try to remember. Below. <=iv class="gmail_extra"> On Sun, May 20, 20=8 at 9:19 PM, Harry Chomsky < <mailto:harry@=homsky.net> > wrote: <=lockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 .8ex;border-left:lpx=#ccc solid;padding-left:lex"> It sounds like you would lik= me to say yes or no to your proposal exactly as you have stated it, witho=t further discussion. I can't do that. Here are some reaso=s: 4 EFTA_R1_01898384 EFTA02654103  1. It's not permitted under Massachusetts trust law. <Al> Can you -- or perhaps your lawyer -- refer me=to the part of Mass Trust Law that makes it illegal for beneficiaries to a=ree on distributing funds from a marital trust and then liquidate it?4,=A0 I can't find it. 1. I agreed to certain obligations when.' became trustee, and I have to make sure to discharge them faithfully...A0 Even if you tell me you don't care about my fiduciary responsibilit=, the law says I'm responsible anyway. Your solemn obligations are no doubt impressive, but there is an e=sy way to put them to rest. Simply resign (permitted under Mass law)=and then you will have no further obligations. We can then return to=the situation before I appointed you to be a trustee, when I was a trustee=and there were no problems about fiduciary responsibility -- that was befo=e the transition from family to Bleak House. 1. It's not spec=fic. For instance, you mention dividing the trust into two parts, bu= you don't say what each part would consist of. Correct. I left that for discussion, still=laboring under my illusions. So I therefore suggest that you propose=what you think would be an appropriate split and we can proceed from there= 1. It.#39;s not complete. For instance, you haven't proposed any way t= shield us and Max from liability for past actions. I hadn't realized that you are concerned that your pa=t actions might make you legally liable. But this too can be handletheasily. I'm sure that your lawyer can construct some document to=protect you from whatever those past infractions were, and since I still l=bor under my old illusions, that will suffice. </=iv> However, given your assumptions, we should definitely hav= ironclad agreements, with batteries of lawyers an notaries and witnesses,=including an agreement that you will not contest my will, something that h=d never crossed my mind before I learned about your assumptions -- which, = admit, I'm still having trouble comprehending. <=b> It might be possib=e to work out all of these problems and develop a legal, specific and comp=ete agreement based on the framework you've proposed. Would you =ike to engage with me in some kind of process to attempt that? Other=than having your lawyer talk to mine, do you have any suggestion about how=to do so? Very simple. =roceed as above wrote: 5 EFTA_R1_01898385 EFTA02654104  l'= glad that you find the idea interesting and think that you might consider=it, though you have to consult lawyers first. My own view i= different. To me the proposal I suggested seems to be a very simple=way of settling this matter, which to me is extremely troubling. I r=alize that this is just another case of a longstanding difference in the w=y we approach these problems, a difference that has been clear ever since =e were discussing the interest on the loan from the Trust and found that w= could not communicate because I mistakenly assumed that it was a discussi=n among family members while your letters made it very clear and explicit =hat you saw it as a legal issue to be settled among lawyers and Bainco, pe=haps with a mediator in the adversary proceeding. All matters I find=it very hard to comprehend, and to live with, but so be it. The matter is very simple.4>=A0 We can proceed without delay if you agree to settle the issue in the si=ple manner that I suggested. As for your proposals in your =etter of March 29, as I wrote you, the letter was so shocking that it was =ard for me to bring myself to respond, but I did, in detail, but decided n=t to send it. Perhaps I should. Will think about it. =/div> As for your proposals, my response was the obvious one. I'm=sorry for the stress you had to endure, but your efforts were a waste of t=me for reasons I had already fully explained before you undertook them.Q=A0 As I'm sure you recall, a few years ago, I requested tax payments f=om the marital trust when my IRA was being rapidly depleted by my advisers=who were distributing half to family and using the other half to pay manag=ment fees and taxes for the entire estate, so that to pay Alex's medic=l expenses and the expenses for Wellfleet I had to withdraw excess funds w=th exorbitant taxes, all that before withdrawing even a cent to live on ag=in with exorbitant taxes. Your response was to refuse the request un=ess I agreed to intrusive and insulting financial investigations -- of a k=nd I never considered when providing funds to you for something you needed= I made it clear and explicit at the time that I would not submit to=this procedure. Since your efforts and proposals simply repeat the s=me procedure, they were a waste of time. There were some th=ngs in your letter that were correct. You're right that despite =hat has happened, I'm still a "wealthy man," with income wel= above the median, though lacking a pension and accumulated property, not =t the level of my peers. Furthermore, I can supplement my income by =eaching large undergraduate courses, something I'd never done and that=is not that common for people approaching 90, but something that I enjoy.=C2. And you too are a wealthy man, for the same reasons: the reasons are=that I've worked hard all my life, lived fairly simply (and live even =ore simply today), and was therefore able to put aside enough money to ens=re that my children and grandchildren are very well cared for, indefinitel=. But I again suggest that we put all of this a=ide, and deal quickly and simply with what appears to be the one outstandi=g issue: dividing the Marital trust and then dissolving it, all very simpl=, needing no lawyers, at least on my part. 0 On Fri, May 18, =018 at 1:44 PM, Harry Chomsky <mailto > wrote: 6 EFTA_R1_01898386 EFTA02654105  This is an interestin= idea. We could consider it further, but I would need the advice of =y lawyer — and I assume you would want your own lawyer's advic= as well — to ensure that any agreement we reach is consistent wit= Massachusetts law and satisfies the interests, needs, and obligations of =verybody involved. Perhaps, as a next step, you could ask your lawye= to contact mine and begin a discussion in which we all participate. =div> I'm also curious to hear your thoughts about the pr=posals I suggested in my message on March 29th. <=iv class="gmail_extra"> On Thu, May 17, 20=8 at 10:05 AM, Noam Chomsky <mailto:[email protected]> wrote:<=r> As I wrote = little while ago, I did write a long response to your last -- deeply depr=ssing -- letter, but decided not to send it. I may return to that le=ter later but will keep to some factual matters that ought to be cleared u=. But now I'm writing just about one point, which s=ems to be the core of the problem -- a problem, which, again, I don't =nderstand. But let's put that aside, though I hope we can clear =t up soon. All of this is a painful cloud that I never would h=ve imagined would darken my late years. The core =ssue seems to be the marital trust. I've explained how M and I a=tually set it up with Eric, which seemed to us just plain common sense..=A0 I've also explained Max's different interpretation. l'=ve asked you for yours, but haven't heard it. But let's put =hat aside too, and just resolve the matter, as can be done very simply -- =ith no need for lawyers to explain the fiduciary responsibility of the tru=tee I appointed years ago to replace me, something I never paid any attent=on to before. The simple solution is to divide th= trust into two parts. One part will go to you, to use as you wish.=C2* One part will go to me, for me to use without any investigations of =y financial situation and other such intrusions that I won't accept.=C2. Then the trust can simply be dissolved, and it is all over. So I suggest that we proceed this way, and end the whole m=tter -- at least, whatever it is that I understand about what is of concer= to you. 0 7 EFTA_R1_01898387 EFTA02654106  =C2* please note The information co=tained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client pr=vileged, may constitute inside information, and is intended only for JEE Unauthorized use= disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is str=ctly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this commu=ication in error, please notify us immediately by return e-mail or by e=mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , and destroy this communication and all copies thereo=, including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved </=iv> --0000000000002727eb056d49ec27-- conversation-id 5362 date-last-viewed 0 date- received 1527539144 flags 8590195713 gmail-label-ids 7 6 remote-id 824211 8 EFTA_R1_01898388 EFTA02654107