- Estanne to be replaced as part of settlement or end up in court
The founder of the SlimFast dieting empire wants his wife to lose control over part of his fortune after accusing her of money-grabbing.
S Daniel Abraham, 91, has launched a legal battle to remove his ex-wife Estanne from the board of trustees, Page Six reported.
He
says Estanne and her new husband, accountant Martin Fawer, have
mismanaged trust funds containing $1 billion collectively, meant for
Abraham and Estanne's four daughters.
Unilever
bought SlimFast from Abraham in 2000 for $2.3 billion. Abraham placed
$1 billion into his children's trust funds. Estanne, who got divorced
from Abraham in 1993, was still a trustee at the time.
SlimFast founder S Daniel Abraham
(pictured), 91, has launched a legal battle to remove his ex-wife
Estanne from the board of trustees after accusing her of mismanaging
part of his fortune
The four daughters have now teamed up with their father to have their mother removed as a trustee.
Abraham has accused Estanne of 'greed and selfishness' and 'naked money-grabbing', a source told Page Six.
He and his daughters want her to be replaced by Mark D Harris, a litigator at New York law firm Proskauer Rose.
Photo: Proskauer
Abraham and his daughters want Estanne replaced by Mark D Harris, a litigator at Proskauer Rose
Abraham and his daughters want Estanne replaced by Mark D Harris, a litigator at Proskauer Rose
This could be done in an impending settlement to avoid a public battle in court, according to Page Six.
Interlaken
Management, the company set up by Estanne to manager her daughter's
trust fund, is reportedly preparing to cease its activities.
'Dan
Abraham has succeeded in lining up the daughters against their own
mother over their trusts, and persuaded them to remove their mother as
trustee,' the source told Page Six.
'There
was a lot of money at stake, and Abraham was not happy that his ex-wife
had a new husband who potentially had influence over his money. They
are negotiating a settlement with Estanne for her to step down.'
Estanne's
lawyers say she did not mismanage her daughter's trust funds and paid
them more than $774 million over the past 11 years.
They
also say three of Abraham and Estanne's daughters owe their trusts
close to $35 million. According to Page Six, Estanne thinks her family's
bid to remove her from the board of trustees is a way to get out of
debt.
A lawyer for Estanne told Page Six she was still a trustee and discussions about the settlement were still ongoing.
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