The daughter of 90-year-old Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein alleged her mother is a victim of elder abuse in a lawsuit filed against trustees of her late husband’s estate.
Feinstein and her daughter, Katherine, accused co-trustees Michael Klein and Marc Scholvinck of engaging in elder and financial abuse, in addition to a breach of trust, Reuters reported Wednesday. Katherine filed the lawsuit Aug. 8 in the California Superior Court in the County of San Francisco.
The lawsuit alleges the trustees “wrongfully” withheld distributions from her late husband’s trust that should have gone toward her trust fund, the outlet reported. Feinstein’s late husband, Richard Blum, died in early 2022 after 42 years of marriage.
Steven Braccini, an attorney representing the trustees, accused the senator’s daughter of “unconscionably” filing an ill-willed lawsuit.
Klein and Scholvinck “have acted ethically and appropriately at all times; the same cannot be said for Katherine Feinstein. This filing is unconscionable,” the lawyer said, according to Reuters. “The trustees have always respected Senator Feinstein and always will. But this has nothing to do with her needs and everything to do with her daughter’s avarice.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein alleges the trustees of her late husband’s estate committed financial elder abuse in new lawsuit https://t.co/2Iwm1dt4Ir
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) August 15, 2023
Feinstein, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, took a leave of absence from Congress for two months after being hospitalized to receive treatment for her shingles diagnosis. (RELATED: Dianne Feinstein Asked To Step Down From Key Senate Committee)
The elderly senator missed a total of 91 votes on the Senate floor related to confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, leading Senate Democrats to try and temporarily replace her. Upon her return, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee approved six Biden nominees, three of whom passed on a party-line vote, CNN reported Thursday. The votes had been put on hold while Feinstein was absent from D.C.
Feinstein visibly trembled and appeared confused as staffers wheeled her into the Senate chamber May 11. She reportedly asked “where am I going?”
The shingles virus spread to the senator’s face and neck, causing a facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Her illness also caused a previous undisclosed case of encephalitis, a rare development from shingles.