Some of the interesting aspects of Ms. Helmsley's Will are:

• Three million dollars is left to "the Helmsley Perpetual Trust," which provides for maintenance of the family mausoleum.
• Ms. Helmsley provided for outright gifts to her brother, Alvin, and two grandsons of five million dollars each.
• Two other grandchildren were disinherited "for reasons which are known to them."
• Her chauffeur was given a gift of one hundred thousand dollars.
• Twelve million dollars is directed to the trustees of "The Leona Helmsley July 2005 Trust," the beneficiaries of which are unknown because the trust was created during her life. However, it can be surmised from language that follows this devise in the Will that one of the trust's "bone-aficiaries" is Trouble, Ms. Helmsley's beloved Maltese. The Will further provides that the pampered pooch is to be cared for by Alvin and buried next to Ms. Helmsley upon her death. (This may be a problem given that New York law prohibits animal remains in human graveyards).
• The Will also directs "that anything bearing the Helmsley name must be maintained in 'mint' condition and in the manner that it has been accustomed to, maintaining the outstanding Helmsley reputation." This vague provision may cause many hucksters to rename their boats "Helmsley" and start submitting maintenance receipts to the estate for reimbursement.
• The Will creates three charitable remainder unitrusts ("CRT"). One CRT, in the amount of ten million dollars and with a five percent uni-trust rate, is for the benefit of Alvin. The other two CRTs are in the amount of five million each, also at a five percent uni-trust rate, and are for the benefit of the two grandsons who are also receiving outright gifts from the estate.
• The balance of her billions in wealth is to be transferred to "The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust."

One question that knowledgeable estate planning attorneys posed when learning about the CRTs for her grandsons was whether the two CRTs would in fact qualify as charitable trusts. Internal Revenue Code Section 664(d)(2)(D) provides that a CRT must meet the ten percent remainder test in order to qualify as a charitable trust. At current interest rates, a CRT with a beneficiary who is under the age of twenty-five will not pass the ten percent remainder test. Since the grandsons were each over age twenty-five at the time of Ms. Helmsley's death, the CRTs she provided for them will meet the test. Had the CRTs not met the test, the IRS has provided certain rules as to how the CRTs could have been reformed (by reducing the term of the uni-trust payments from the life of the grandsons to no more than twenty years). Apparently, Ms. Helmsley's estate planning attorney anticipated this possibility and specifically overrode this option by providing:

However, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, I direct that even if the value of the charitable remainder interest is less than the minimum amount which is required for a trust to qualify as a charitable remainder trust (such minimum is currently ten percent), I nevertheless direct that the unitrust amount of five percent not be changed, even if it means the trust would therefore not qualify as a charitable remainder trust.

Ms. Helmsley's Will contains another interesting provision dealing with her deceased son, Jay, who died in 1982. Jay's sons, who are the grandsons provided for under Ms. Helmsley's Will, will have their respective interests in the CRT created for each of them terminated upon their failure to visit their father's grave every calendar year, preferably on March 31, the anniversary of his death. They must sign a register placed in the Helmsley Mausoleum to establish their compliance. Code Section 664(f)(3) provides that a CRT may be terminated prior to maturity based on the happening of a "qualified contingency." A "qualified contingency" is defined as "any provision of a trust which provides that, upon the happening of a contingency, the unitrust or annuity trust payments will terminate no later than such payments would otherwise terminate under the trust." This gives a trustor very broad discretion in determining when a CRT might terminate and the provision under Ms. Helmsley's Will that her grandsons visit their father's gravesite annually and sign the register placed in the family mausoleum certainly qualifies as such a contingency.

Our firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys and has received special education in advanced estate planning strategies and the drafting of Wills and trusts, including revocable living trusts and charitable remainder trusts. Call our office to learn more about these trusts and other advanced estate planning strategies, or to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys to discuss your needs or that of one of your clients.