Rauschenberg Estate Saga of Trust and Fees Explained

By Jessica Curley

Prior to his death, Robert Rauschenberg (1925 – 2008) established a revocable trust, which is a type of estate planning tool that allowed him to change or even revoke the trust during his lifetime. The primary purpose of the trust was to benefit the Rauschenberg Foundation (“Foundation”), a non-profit organization, which supports artists and art related issues. The Foundation’s Board of Directors includes Christopher Rauschenberg, the artist’s son, along with several other members of the art and business communities. Named as Rauschenberg estate trustees were three of the artist’s long time friends and associates, including Darryl Pottorf, Ruaschenberg’s business partner and companion of over twenty-five years; Bill Goldston, a trusted business associate; and Bennet Gruntman, the artist’s accountant for over eighteen years. Shortly after Rauschenberg’s death, the three trustees and the Foundation became entangled in estate litigation after the trustees demanded $60 million in fees for administering the $600 million trust, an amount that the Foundation called “unconscionable.” On 1 August 2014, a Florida Circuit Court awarding the trustees’ fees in the amount of $24.6 million, to be split evenly among the three.

State law primarily governs the field of trusts and estates and under the Florida Trust Code trustees are entitled to “reasonable compensation” where fee terms have not been clearly articulated in a trust document. According to case law and common practice, the compensation may be [%] of the total value of the estate. Michael Gay, Partner at Foley & Lardner LLP in Orlando Florida, and lawyer for the trustees, claimed that the multi-million dollar compensation sought in this case was reasonable because the work required of the Trustees was extraordinary in nature and included having to handle copyright and tax issues. Gay also claimed that his clients created and executed a unique plan to prevent a decline in trust assets which involved minimizing the potential flood of art into the market, and managing several exhibitions and memorials to maintain and promote interest in the artist’s work. As evidence of their extraordinary management of the trust, appraisals were introduced to the court, which placed the value of the trust assets at $2.2 billion, up from $600 million just four years prior.

Christopher Rauschenberg, the artist’s son and Chairman of the Rauschenberg Foundation, who challenged the original invoice, claimed that reasonable compensation was closer to $375,000, to be split among the trustees. In an affidavit presented to the court, Laird Lile, a solo practitioner specializing in trust and estate law, and attorney for the Foundation estimated that the trustees were essentially demanding a rate of $40,000 per hour, having requested a total of $60 million in compensation for a maximum of 1500 hours of work. Estimates of the hours worked were provided because the trustees failed to keep accurate records of their time. Robert W. Goldman, attorney at Goldman Felcoski & Stone P.A. law firm, representing the Foundation, released a statement saying that a $60 million fee is a “monstrous affront to Bob’s testamentary intent.”