Jane Buffett, 72, has sued the co-trustee of her husband's $275 million trust. Apparently, co-trustee Richard Mozenter has not been forthcoming about the financial information to late Jimmy Buffett's family.
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According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jane Buffett has asked the court to remove Richard Mozenter as the co-trustee of Jimmy Buffett's estate. She made the request on June 3.
Not only has Mozenter been lacklustre in providing crucial financial information, but he and Jeffrey Smith, the lawyer Mozenter selected to represent the trustees of the Marital Trust, have been "openly hostile" toward Jane.
The hostilities and subpar performance have clearly frustrated Jane and others, leading to legal action.
The file claims that "Mr. Mozenter has failed to perform even the most basic tasks required of him in his role as co-trustee, including providing Mrs. Buffett with information concerning Trust assets and finances, which has left Mrs. Buffett in the dark with regard to the state of her own finances."
"Along the way, Mr. Mozenter has belittled, disrespected, and condescended to Mrs. Buffett in response to her reasonable requests for information she undoubtedly was entitled to receive."
Jimmy Buffett's Martial Fund Earning A "Remarkably Poor Return" Under Co-Trustee
Upon Jimmy Buffett's death, the bulk of his assets were to go to the Martial Fund, which was to be administered by Jane and an independent co-trustee.
Upon Buffett's death, Mozenter took to managing assets worth a whopping $275 million. With such a large sum of money, you can expect large returns. However, Mozenter has not been cooperative with Jane about the matter.
Their first meeting to discuss projected income happened a month after Buffett's death. However, Mozenter wasn't helpful. "Rather than help his recently widowed client understand her finances, Mr. Mozenter spent the next 16 months stonewalling and making excuses for why he could not yet provide the requested information."
Last February, Mozenter finally provided the estimate Jane had asked for in 2023. Only for it to be another shock.
Mozenter "showed the Marital Trust earning less than $2 million in net income, a remarkably poor return for a Trust with an estimated $275 million in assets." He also allegedly told Jane to "consider adjustments" to her lifestyle as the Trust wouldn't cover annual expenses. This shouldn't realistically be a problem with a Trust worth so much.
Ultimately, Mozenter is either incompetent to do his job or simply cannot work productively with Jane. Either way, Jane wants him gone.
The hearing will take place on August 14.
