The Legal Battle Over The $200 Million Estate Of Melva Bucksbaum

There is a bitter family dispute taking place over the $200 million estate of beloved art collector and patron Melva Buckbaum. “Page Six reports that Bucksbaum’s children, Gene and Glenn Bucksbaum and estate trustee Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan are embroiled in a hotly-contested row with Raymond Learsy, Bucksbaum’s husband of 15 years and a fellow Whitney Museum board member.” The estate includes a $30 million home and an impressive art collection featuring the works of artists like “Henri Matisse, Peter Paul Rubens, Andy Warhol, and Robert Mapplethorpe.” Learsy is currently attempting to challenge Melva Buckbaum’s will claiming that he should be entitled to half of her fortune instead of just $10 million that was left to him in her will. Careful estate planning is necessary for either avoiding or mitigating these kinds of family legal battles.

See Cait Munro, Bitter Family Battle Ensues Over Melva Bucksbaum’s $200 Million Estate, artnet News, January 27, 2016.