The co-trustees of a trust in the name of Richard Blum — the deceased, wealthy husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein — were accused of elder abuse against Feinstein in a recent court filing submitted by her daughter, Katherine, who has limited power of attorney over the senator.

The filing, submitted Aug. 8, partially confirmed what had previously been reported by other outlets: that Katherine Feinstein, a former San Francisco County Superior Court judge and current San Francisco fire commissioner, has limited power of attorney over her mother, which the senator signed over to her on July 23, 2023. The recent court filing notes that this entitles Katherine to make legal decisions for her mother in certain civil-related matters.

In the Aug. 8 filing, Katherine Feinstein made the striking allegation that Michael Klein, Marc Scholvinck and Verett Mims, who control the disputed trust, are committing financial elder abuse against the 90-year-old senator. California’s elder abuse laws cover all state residents age 65 and older.

In the filing, Katherine alleges that the co-trustees didn’t fund a trust her mother is the sole income beneficiary of and that they have not made “required distributions” to the senator since Blum’s death in 2022. Katherine, Feinstein’s daughter from a previous marriage, also alleges that the co-trustees are purposely slow-rolling payments to the senator because they “intend to benefit Richard Blum’s [biological] daughters, who stand to inherit millions of dollars that should go to Senator Feinstein if the Trustees never make the required distributions to her.”

Among other asks, Katherine wants the court to suspend the co-trustees, “pending a decision on whether to remove them,” a move she said is necessary to “prevent further loss and injury to Senator Feinstein.”

Steven P. Braccini, attorney for Klein and Scholvinck, responded forcefully to Katherine’s allegations Tuesday.

“The trustees have acted ethically and appropriately at all times; the same cannot be said for Katherine Feinstein,” he wrote in a statement to SFGATE. “This filing is unconscionable. 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.”

In a separate filing from July, first reported by SFGATE, Katherine accused Klein and Scholvinck of failing to disburse money from a separate trust, despite the senator’s requesting money to pay for substantial medical expenses. (The ailing Feinstein missed months of time from the Senate due to a case of shingles and resulting complications.) At the time, Braccini denied the allegation on behalf of Klein and Scholvinck, writing in a statement to SFGATE that the trustees had “never denied any disbursement to Senator Feinstein, let alone for medical expenses.”

But in the Aug. 8 filing, first reported on by the San Francisco Chronicle, Katherine argued that the co-trustees were using deceptive language when they said they’d never denied disbursements. “The Trustees have failed to respond to any requests for disbursements, which is a de facto denial. The Trustees have engaged in an overarching pattern of inaction related to Senator Feinstein’s beneficial interests, to her detriment,” the filing reads. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

Last week’s filing made a similar argument in the allegations of financial elder abuse against the senator, citing various sections of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code and claiming that the co-trustees were withholding distributions “in bad faith.”

This latest filing adds to the long, and increasingly ugly, list of legal battles over Blum’s web of trusts. It continues to be unclear how much the senator herself is directly involved in the court battles, particularly given the many reports that her mental acuity is nowhere near what it once was.

On Aug. 10, in a separate court filing first reported on by SFGATE, attorneys for Klein — a longtime lawyer of Blum’s and co-trustee of various Blum trusts — argued that Katherine Feinstein and her husband, Rick Mariano, have attempted to circumvent Klein and prepare Feinstein’s Stinson Beach home for sale without adequate legal authority. In the filing, Klein’s team also insinuated that the senator may not be as closely involved in the decision to sell the Stinson Beach property as her daughter has claimed.

“While [Katherine] claims that she is simply trying to carry out what Senator Feinstein has allegedly expressed to [Katherine], the co-trustees’ fiduciary responsibilities require more,” attorneys for Klein wrote. (Twice in the filing, Klein’s attorneys used the word “purportedly” to describe the senator’s wishes.)

A near-supermajority of California voters want Feinstein to resign from office, according to a June poll.

Alex Shultz is the politics editor for SFGATE. You can reach him at [email protected].

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