Astor grandson speaks on elder abuse, inheritance rights

 (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano) 

No one would ever have predicted that the most high profile of elder abuse cases would involve a woman who reigned for decades as grande dame of New York society and was also known as a committed philanthropist.  Things changed, however, when a Manhattan jury found both Anthony Marshall, Brooke Astor's son, and estate planning attorney Francis Morrissey guilty of multiple counts in the Brooke Astor estate looting trial.  A recent interview provided the opportunity to talk with Philip Marshall, Astor's grandson, about elder abuse, inheritance rights and how an intersection of the two issues has forever changed his family's life. 

Upon the verdict announcement, Philip Marshall released this statement:  "I hope this brings some consolation and closure for the many people, including my grandmother’s loyal staff, caregivers and friends, who helped when she was so vulnerable and so manipulated.  I sincerely hope these sad circumstances contribute to the recognition of elder abuse and exploitation as a growing national problem."

Philip Marshall, a professor of historic preservation at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, never anticipated events of the last years.  While expressing clear sadness with regard to his father's bad decisions and current plight, Philip Marshall is unapologetic and without regret regarding efforts to protect his grandmother - despite those efforts ultimately resulting in his 85-year-old father now facing prison.  And though not indicted, Anthony Marshall's wife Charlene has been an integral part of this story and is commonly viewed as a driving force behind her husband's actions.  In response to the overall situation, Philip Marshall recently told Melissa Grace of the New York Daily News, "as weird as it is, you have to do the right thing." 

Despite Brooke Astor being a wealthy woman with a net worth of nearly $200 million, the last years of her life brought situations common to many of our aging seniors.  Philip Marshall described how because his father, Anthony Marshall, was able to separate his grandmother from many friends, the friends either couldn't see Brooke or didn't know what was happening.  Marshall calls it a "conspiracy of silence."  It is nothing intentional, just people having  difficulty with the mortality issue and the idea that someone really does need help.  He said it's like they maybe would rather think of the better days.  As people didn't know how to speak out, he says an additional consequence of the "silence" left his grandmother being helped by both long-time staff and by caregivers who had barely known her on a good day yet were staying around, being her advocate and trying to defend her in the face of efforts that weren't in her best interests. 

Throughout the trial, the prosecution regularly discussed alleged cost-cutting measures implemented by Anthony Marshall during his time of controlling Brooke's estate.  The implication was that he was reducing Brooke's expenses while simultaneously using her money to upgrade his own lifestyle.  These measures included firing members of the household staff, even Chris Ely, Brooke's long-time butler.  Philip Marshall described these dismissals as a great source of grief for his grandmother.          

"When Chris Ely, the butler, was fired, he vanished because he was summarily dismissed.  The result was my grandmother thought he had died because how else could he have gone from her life.  It was really traumatic for her.  When they would get on the phone - he wasn't allowed to see her - the caregivers say she would just start crying because she heard him.  At that point, I will never underestimate, though she didn't have testamentary capacity, the love and fear she could still feel."

Philip Marshall says that even after her friend Annette de la Renta was named guardian in October 2006, Brooke remained fearful.  He explained:  "We knew why and the caregivers really knew why.  Within that year she stayed with us in the country, she began to relax, but it took quite a bit of time.  She was scared because it (fear) was the instrument used to try and exact as much as my father and Charlene could out of her.  To me, the money obviously became a big issue for a lot of people, but that wasn't our concern.  It came into the forefront, but it was the psychological torment in an effort to exploit that was so bad." 

After acknowledging the difficult position and expressing great appreciation for his grandmother's staff and caregivers, Marshall discussed the challenges of an abusive situation.  "It's hard when you've been distanced; it's hard to substantiate (abuse) as there's no real physical evidence so that's where the financials come in.  They can establish important patterns,"  he said.  

In addition to the elder abuse aspects, this case also has important inheritance rights implications.  In various articles, Philip Marshall has been quoted using the term "blood money."  While understanding the term to commonly describe assets unjustly diverted from intended beneficiaries, he sees a new meaning evolving from a growing sense of entitlement with regard to the property of others.  Marshall believes that people who are blood relatives (or in-laws) increasingly feel as though they are due a portion of an estate even if there is a will that indicates that the money is to go to somebody else or a charity.       

"We were never a part of my grandmother's world.  But my feeling is if she wanted to give all her money to charity, that's her decision.  Or almost all of it.   But the fact is, my father and Charlene figured 'we are blood relatives, we are the son, we deserve the money' which is just totally inappropriate.  I think there are a lot of people who feel 'what right does my relative have to give money to charity or to some cause other than the family?'  The reality is they have every right to do whatever they want."

Philip Marshall says many of his views were shaped in 2002 with the illness and subsequent death of his stepfather.  "He died at home and I learned then that you do whatever you have to at the end to take care of someone - you don't trip people up," he said.  His stepfather leaving a "messy" estate helped attune Philip to probate complications that can arise.  "After this experience, I looked toward New York and my grandmother and started seeing that she was being compromised," Marshall said.

Providing positive support to the elderly is so important.  "The time when most people are least able to cope with it is when they need it most.  Both the physical and fiscal.  If they haven't gone through it, they have a hard time with the learning curve of dealing with the physical and the fiscal.  You help out, you don't trip up.  Codicils are only done in a good year, not just a good day."  Marshall also advises that if a person thinks something is going astray with an estate, keep records.  Documentation, he says, is key. 

Much has been written about the Astor estate looting trial and Philip Marshall takes exception to those who believe these type cases are strictly family issues and shouldn't be considered criminal acts.  He says that forcing such cases into civil venues would leave most people unable to mount a defense in response to abusive actions.  Marshall also sees the conviction of estate attorney Francis Morrissey important due to Morrissey's long history of unsavory dealings. 

Remembering his grandmother's activities, Marshall notes the irony that a trendy 70s philanthropic catch-phrase whereby entities sought to "improve the quality of life" finds a new meaning with today's elder abuse issue.  Philip Marshall believes the legacy of Brooke Astor as an elder abuse victim may ultimately prove to be more enduring than her cultural pursuits.  The influence that elder abuse can have on one's rights of inheritance will be another lasting lesson of this case.  Marshall never expected his family's situation to so escalate and attract attention as it has, but "fight of the bluebloods" portrayals along with other sensational coverage will never change the bottom line of this being an elder abuse case.  

In his travels, Philip Marshall says he's met people who know the difficulty, the isolation of elder and estate abuse cases as well as others who seem confident it can't happen to them.  Most people would view Brooke Astor as a totally unlikely victim and her grandson Philip sounds ready to once again be his grandmother's advocate putting forth the message that if it happened to Brooke, it can happen to you.            

For more info: 

Tony’s Miss Piggy skewered in Astor verdict/Payback vs. Astor daughter-in-law as estate swindler Marshall gets nailed (Oct. 9, 2009)
Weighing Prison When the Convict Is Over 80 (Oct. 9, 2009)
The Forewoman of the Astor Jury Weighs In (Oct. 9, 2009)
Abuse Experts Heartened by Astor Verdict (Oct. 10, 2009)
Astor grandson: stepmom’s real villain (Oct. 10, 2009)
Move to Protect Mrs. Astor May Cost an Inheritance (Oct. 11, 2009)
Brooke Astor’s secretary spills the family secrets (Oct. 11, 2009)
Philanthropist Astor’s will headed for court challenge, grandson says (Oct. 14, 2009)

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