EFTA02652046.pdf

From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:16 PM To: Valeria Chomsky Subject: Re: Marital Trust would you like me to call his lawyer? sorry, =ut this was my view from day one. but noam understandbly did n=t want to accept it. On Thu, May 24, 2018 at 7:11 PM Valeria Chomsky < <mailto: > wrote: Forwarded message From: Noam Chomsky < Date: Thu, May 24, 2018 at 6:47 PM Subject: Re: Marital Trust T=: Harry Chomsky «mailto >> I'm more than so=ry, not just about the conversation. Worst thing that's ever hap=ened to me. Could never have imagined that this would happen in my late ye=rs. Worth reflecting why On Thu, May 24, 2018 at 1:44 PM, Har=y Chomsky < <mailto > wrote: I'm sorry that this conversation hasn L=3 led to any agreement on changes to the trust or to improvement of thing= between us. On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 11:59 AM, Noam Chomsky=< <mailto > wrote: As =sual, you ignored everything I wrote and and are pursuing your own agenda.=C2 But this letter is nevertheless very helpful. I've been as=ing you repeatedly to clear the air and say exactly what you want instead =f evading it in one way or another, and this does come close to that. =AO It also finally explains clearly what I did not want to believe about y=ur refusing my request for some funds for taxes a few years ago <=iv> You no doubt recall the circumstances. Unknown to me, my fina=cial advisers had arranged to rapidly deplete my main source of support, m= IRA, by distributing half of the mandatory withdrawal to family members a=d to use the rest for paying management fees and taxes for the entire esta=e. That meant that when I paid Alex's expenses, I had to withdra= over the limit, with exorbitant taxes. Same with any other funds for any =amily matters, and EFTA_R1_01894907 EFTA02652046 with Wellfleet payments well after I stopped using the =ouse, again with exorbitant taxes. Of course I also needed to live, =o that meant more withdrawals with exorbitant taxes. Under those con=itions I requested some tax relief from the marital trust -- which, of cou=se, was established on the understanding that it would be available to the=survivor. Your reaction, to my amazement, was to =efuse, even under these remarkable circumstances, by imposing absurd conditions that no one with a shred of dignity =ould accept, no concern of yours. Of course, no such questions ever were o= even the remote horizon when I was trustee, before choosing you to replac= me, or on any other occasion when I arranged for funds to go to you, eith=r as an ample inheritance or for regular expenses. Your le=ter now makes your reasoning very clear. Your proposal is that you s=ould remain in total control, evidently a matter of great importance for y=u. And following your principles, as exhibited with crystal clarity =nder even the extreme circumstances just described, you can ensure that th= funds in their entirety will go to you, though I suppose in your kindness=you might relax your strict regimen slightly when the day comes, as it mus=, when I am no longer in a position to retain a shred of dignity and to re=use an intrusive and humiliating interrogation. However, t=ere is a simpler way to realize your objectives, even more fully. Yo= can resign as trustee -- of course possible, just as I did when I appoint=d 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 right now for wh=tever purposes you like. Plainly that's more efficient, and even=more lucrative for you than your suggestion. It's tru= that this is one possible proposal, as you suggest. Anoth=r proposal is the one I suggested. True, there are some arcane tax i=sues, but these can easily be resolved, as your lawyer can explain to you,=with common consent among the beneficiaries -- which means your consent.4=pan> There are, of course, other possibilities. I could pur=ue legal measures to have the trust used in the manner in which it was int=nded. I could also look into the disbursements that have been made t= family members (so I have learned) without informing me, and could look i=to why I haven't been receiving any income from the trust for years (until I finally raised the question), and why investments were made the way =hey were done, yielding long-term returns that would be of no use for me, =ighly irregular for an elderly person -- which, as I wrote you, greatly surprised financial advisers I consulted when I finally began to pay attentio=. And, furthermore, why I never received any statements about what w=s going on for years, until I finally asked what is going on with the trus=. And perhaps other matters that evidently concern you, as shown by =our request for protection for past actions. But I haven=#39;t yet shifted to your domain and still retain some illusions about fam=ly relations. There are other matters that ='ve written to you about several times, with no response, which means = presume that you do not want to hear them. They don't specifica=ly have to do with this matter, so if you have gotten this far in the lett=r, you can stop here. But they are on my mind, and I want to clear t=e air -- if anyone wishes to look. My father coul= die in peace, knowing his children would ensure that his wife would be ta=en care of. I don't have that luxury.<=span> No lawyers or words were necessary. 1= was simply obvious that we would hand over to her what there was of an in=eritance, the house and everything in it. And of course we were very=pleased that he had joy and companionship in his last years. 2 EFTA_R1_01894908 EFTA02652047  Valeria and I are very happy together, apart from what you are =oing, which is naturally extremely painful. She left her friends and=family, and a professional life. I have almost no pension, as I desc=ibed, and it terminates when I die. Accordingly, I have to deal with=concerns that my father, luckily for him, never had to consider. The situation is not only extremely painful, but in fact su=real. I could never have imagined that anything like this would happ=n in my last years. =div class="gmail_quote"> Forwarded message Harry Chomsky &I= <=a» <mailto Date: Tue, May 22, 2018 at 2:32 PM Subject: Re: Marita= Trust To: Noam Chomsky < <mailto >> I'd like to put together a pr=posal that I think would address some of your needs and ease our communica=ions. The proposal would give you some additional access to the trus= assets. It would also include appointing a new independent trustee =o replace Max. However, it would not terminate the trust, and I woul= remain as one trustee. Are you interested in see=ng such a proposal? If you feel that it would be = good use of everyone's time, I will work with my lawyer Jillian to wr=te up an outline of what I have in mind. We will send the outline 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 why we ca='t just terminate the trust and split the assets as you suggested. =AO If your lawyer disagrees with Jillian and feels that such a split would=be viable, Jillian would be happy to discuss it with your lawyer. On Mon, May 21, 2018 at 12:30 PM, Noam Chomsky < <mailto » wrote: Sorry, I made the same error as before. I'm finding =t hard to shake the illusion that we are discussing things within a family= and are not characters in Bleak House. I'll try to remem=er. Below. On Sun, May 20, 2018 at 9:19 PM, Harry Chomsky < <mailto-> wrote: It sounds like you would like me to say yes or no to your proposa= exactly as you have stated it, without further discussion. I can -t=;t do that. Here are some reasons: 1. It's not permitted=under Massachusetts trust law. 3 EFTA_R1_01894909 EFTA02652048  Can you=-- or perhaps your lawyer -- refer me to the part of Mass Trust Law that m=kes it illegal for beneficiaries to agree on distributing funds from a mar=tal trust and then liquidate it? I can't find it. =C2 1. = agreed to certain obligations when I became trustee, and I have to make s=re to discharge them faithfully. Even if you tell me you don't c=re about my fiduciary responsibility, the law says I'm responsible any=ay. Your solemn obligations are no=doubt impressive, but there is an easy way to put them to rest. Simp=y resign (permitted under Mass law) and then you will have no further obli=ations. We can then return to the situation before I appointed you t= be a trustee, when I was a trustee and there were no problems about fiduc=ary responsibility -- that was before the transition from family to Ble=k House. 1. It's not specific. For instance, you mention d=viding the trust into two parts, but you don't say what each part woul= consist of. Correc=. I left that for discussion, still laboring under my illusions. So = therefore suggest that you propose what you think would be an appropriate=split and we can proceed from there. 1. It's not complete. For instance= you haven't proposed any way to shield us and Max from liability for =ast actions. I hadn't realized=that you are concerned that your past actions might make you legally liabl=. But this too can be handled easily. I'm sure that your l=wyer can construct some document to protect you from whatever those past i=fractions were, and since I still labor under my old illusions, that will =uffice. However, given your a=sumptions, we should definitely have ironclad agreements, with batteries o= lawyers an notaries and witnesses, including an agreement that you will n=t contest my will, something that had never crossed my mind before I learn=d about your assumptions -- which, I admit, I'm still having trouble c=mprehending. It might be possible to work out all of these problems an= develop a legal, specific and complete agreement based on the framework y=u've proposed. Would you like to engage with me in some kind of =rocess to attempt that? Other than having your lawyer talk to mine, =o you have any suggestion about how to do so? <=r> Very simple. Proceed as above On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 2:26 PM, Noam Chomsky «. href="mailto target="_blank' =/a» wrote: 4 EFTA_R1_01894910 EFTA02652049  <=iv style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-seritfont-size:12.=px;font- style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normar;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text- align:starttext-indent:Opx;te=t-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:Opx;background- color:rgb(=55,255,255);text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">I=#39;m glad that you find the idea interesting and think that you might con=ider it, though you have to consult lawyers first. My own v=ew is different. To me the proposal I suggested seems to be a very s=mple way of settling this matter, which to me is extremely troubling. =AO I realize that this is just another case of a longstanding difference i= the way we approach these problems, a difference that has been clear ever=since we were discussing the interest on the loan from the Trust and found=that we could not communicate because I mistakenly assumed that it was a d=scussion among family members while your letters made it very clear and ex=licit that you saw it as a legal issue to be settled among lawyers and Bai=co, perhaps with a mediator in the adversary proceeding. All matters=l find it very hard to comprehend, and to live with, but so be it. So by all means consult with your lawyer, or perhaps a battery of l=wyers, to make sure that your interests are properly protected. I do='t need any lawyer's advice. The matter is perfectly clear a=d straightforward. So there is no reason for me to hire a lawyer to =eal with the question and to have a lawyer contact yours and initiate a di=cussion in which we all participate. The matter is very sim=le. We can proceed without delay if you agree to settle the issue in=the simple manner that I suggested. As for your proposals i= your letter of March 29, as I wrote you, the letter was so shocking that =t was hard for me to bring myself to respond, but I did, in detail, but derided not to send it. Perhaps I should. Will think about it. As for your proposals, my response was the obvious one. ='m sorry for the stress you had to endure, but your efforts were a was=e of time for reasons I had already fully explained before you undertook t=em. As I'm sure you recall, a few years ago, I requested tax pay=ents from the marital trust when my IRA was being rapidly depleted by my a=visers who were distributing half to family and using the other half to pa= management fees and taxes for the entire estate, so that to pay Alex'= medical expenses and the expenses for Wellfleet I had to withdraw excess =unds with exorbitant taxes, all that before withdrawing even a cent to liv= on again with exorbitant taxes. Your response was to refuse the req=est unless I agreed to intrusive and insulting financial investigations --=of a kind 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 su=mit to this procedure. Since your efforts and proposals simply repea= the same procedure, they were a waste of time. There were=some things in your letter that were correct. You're right that =espite what has happened, I'm still a "wealthy man," with in=ome well above the median, though lacking a pension and accumulated proper=y, not at the level of my peers. Furthermore, I can supplement my in=ome by teaching large undergraduate courses, something I'd never done =nd that is not that common for people approaching 90, but something that l=enjoy. And you too are a wealthy man, for the same reasons: the reas=ns are that I've worked hard all my life, lived fairly simply (and liv= even more simply today), and was therefore able to put aside enough money=to ensure that my children and grandchildren are very well cared for, inde=initely. But I again suggest that we put all of=this aside, and deal quickly and simply with what appears to be the one ou=standing issue: dividing the Marital trust and then dissolving it, all ver= simple, needing no lawyers, at least on my part. D 5 EFTA_R1_01894911 EFTA02652050  On Fri, M=y 18, 2018 at 1:44 PM, Harry Chomsky <-> wr=te: This is an int=resting idea. We could consider it further, but I would need the adv=ce of my lawyer — and I assume you would want your own lawyer.= advice as well — to ensure that any agreement we reach is consist=nt with Massachusetts law and satisfies the interests, needs, and obligati=ns of everybody involved. Perhaps, as a next step, you could ask you= lawyer to contact mine and begin a discussion in which we all participate= I'm also curious to hear your thoughts about=the proposals I suggested in my message on March 29th. > wrote: As I wrote a little while ago, I did =rite a long response to your last -- deeply depressing -- letter, but deci=ed not to send it. I may return to that letter later but will keep t= some factual matters that ought to be cleared up. But =ow I'm writing just about one point, which seems to be the core of the=problem -- a problem, which, again, I don't understand. But let&=39;s put that aside, though I hope we can clear it up soon. All of t=is is a painful cloud that I never would have imagined would darken =y late years. The core issue seems to be the mari=al trust. I've explained how M and I actually set it up with Eri=, which seemed to us just plain common sense. I've also explaine= Max's different interpretation. I've asked you for yours, b=t haven't heard it. But let's put that aside too, and just r=solve the matter, as can be done very simply -- with no need for lawyers t= explain the fiduciary responsibility of the trustee I appointed years ago=to replace me, something I never paid any attention to before. <=r> The simple solution is to divide the trust into two parts. =AO One part will go to you, to use as you wish. One part will go to =e, for me to use without any investigations of my financial situation and =ther such intrusions that I won't accept. Then the trust can sim=ly be dissolved, and it is all over. So I suggest=that we proceed this way, and end the whole matter -- at least, whatever i= is that I understand about what is of concern to you. 0 6 EFTA_R1_01894912 EFTA02652051 =C2 please note The information contained 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. 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