Chapter 4 - The Money Laura Left Nora Was Substantial
Laura had less money than:
me.
Much less.
But she was still Thomas Donovan’s daughter.
Our father died three years before Laura.
His estate plan divided:
company interests,
trust assets,
personal property.
Laura received:
a trust valued around $7.8 million.
She could access income.
Principal distributions required trustee approval for:
health,
education,
housing,
support,
reasonable needs.
When Laura died, the remaining trust assets passed into a separate trust for:
Nora.
At the time:
approximately $6.4 million.
Not all cash.
Investments.
Funds.
Limited partnership interests.
The trust named three trustees:
Eleanor,
Howard,
an independent trust company.
Important.
No single family member controlled:
everything.
Nora also inherited a small non-voting interest in:
Donovan Capital.
About:
4.5 percent economic interest
through a separate holding structure.
Again:
not control.
Not enough to make a seven-year-old a tiny CEO.
Enough to make fiduciary decisions:
important.
I assumed the independent trustee meant Nora’s money was:
safe.
Mostly:
true.
But trustees can make legitimate distributions based on information supplied by:
guardians.
And a guardian can influence what gets characterized as:
for the child.
May you like
That became the problem.
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