Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is refusing to let anyone step over him.
The 88-year-old astronaut, who participated in the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969, is in the midst of a legal battle as his family claims he has dementia and is vulnerable to manipulation. Aldrin has responded with a lawsuit claiming two of his children and his former manager have taken advantage of their roles in managing his assets, and are exploiting the elderly. He says the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation is using its finances against his wishes by funding “future educational endeavors” instead of current ones.
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In the lawsuit, Aldrin also claims the family and former manager have forbidden him from marrying someone and that they are transferring money from his accounts without his knowledge or consent, in some cases to his company Buzz Aldrin Enterprises. His children said in a statement that “these allegations are products of the increased confusion and memory loss that Dad has demonstrated in recent years,” and that they can be refuted by witnesses and bank or corporate records if necessary. “We are committed to protecting him, his reputation and his legacy,” they said. “Our work together on this foundation is testament to that.”
His children have asked a Florida state court to appoint them as co-guardians because of his reported cognitive decline, according to The Wall Street Journal, which would give them the power to make decisions on his behalf.
Aldrin has a revocable trust with his son Andrew named as trustee, created in October 2016, and it states Andrew must give written permission before any changes can be made, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Aldrin was set to take a competency exam late last month, though the results have not yet been released. Neither Aldrin nor his children’s representatives responded to MarketWatch’s request for comment.
Revocable trusts are great tools to avoid probate (which tacks on extra costs, makes the estate division process public and takes more time) and remain in control of your assets while alive, said John Sensiba, managing partner at Sensiba San Filippo, an accounting and business advisory firm. These documents can also state who will take care of your children, where you want your possessions to go and provides flexibility for your wishes after death.
But they’re not always the best protection, as in Aldrin’s case, he said. The best protection is talking to your family before a situation like this arises and sharing your wishes and concerns about what happens after you die or become incapacitated. Of course, that’s not always possible. In some cases, the best trustee may not be a family member and instead an institution, though it’s a difficult decision to make. “Picking that person who should act for ‘me’ is the most difficult decision anyone can make,” said Gary Altman, founder and principal attorney of estate planning firm Altman & Associates. “And the hardest point in anyone’s life is that period between full competency and full incompetency.”
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Revocable trusts, as the name implies, allow the benefactor to change or revoke responsibilities of a trustee. Aldrin likely made that revocable trust with the provision of having his son’s written permission for a reason though, Altman said — his son’s behavior is either the result of being greedy or trying to protect his father from himself. Of course, people aren’t always who they appear to be, but as Aldrin gets older, he may need protection from himself, he added.
“There is no perfect answer,” he said.
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