Why the Question of What’s Going to Happen to Jeffrey Epstein’s Money is so Complicated

The death of Jeffrey Epstein eliminates the possibility of closure through a criminal trial for many of his alleged victims, though prosecutors are still looking at charging others. Civil forfeiture could be an option, but the process to attain the money from those assets is lengthy. The next angle for victims would be tort lawsuits for money damages against Epstein’s estate. In fact, the first one has been filed in New York.

Professor Reid Kress Weisbord, the Judge Norma L. Shapiro Scholar at Rutgers Law School, says that there is an preliminary issue of how long victims have to file claims. If the estate is probated in New York there is a window of seven months. Another issue is how much money did Epstein truly possess? Court documents presented for the criminal trial state that he was worth $550 million, but others claim that this does take into account several different aspects of his extensive empire of assets. Even so, if the number of victim claims against the estate are excessive, it may not leave much for any heirs, including his younger brother, Mark Epstein.

Also, following a principle of British law, successful claimants cannot be awarded punitive damages against a person’s estate, only compensatory damages. Meaning that if Jeffrey Epstein was still alive, not only would the victims have the satisfaction of justice through a trial, but they also could receive more money damages for the trauma they suffered.

See Naomi Cahn, Why the Question of What’s Going to Happen to Jeffrey Epstein’s Money is so Complicated, Forbes, August 15, 2019.