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NEW YORK (AFX) - Philanthropist Brooke Astor's son has been permanently removed as guardian of her multimillion-dollar estate, according to a settlement announced in court Friday.
The agreement allows the 104-year-old Astor's new guardians, Annette de la Renta and the JPMorgan Chase bank, to remain in place instead of her son, Anthony Marshall.
In July, Marshall's son, Philip Marshall, 54, accused his father in court papers of neglecting Astor while looting her estate. He contended his frail and ailing grandmother, one of the city's top socialites for decades, had been reduced to sleeping in a ragged gown on a filthy couch and was subsisting on pureed peas and oatmeal.
The elder Marshall, 82, denied he improperly took anything from his mother or made any changes in her financial affairs against her wishes.
The court previously had made JPMorgan Chase the guardian of Astor's property and de la Renta, the wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, the guardian of her personal well-being.
"I find clear and convincing evidence that Brooke Astor is in need of guardians for her property and her person," said State Supreme Court Justice John Stackhouse.
He said he would not hold a guardianship hearing because Astor would not be able to "participate fully in it."
Astor is the widow of Vincent Astor, a great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, who made a fortune in fur trading and New York real estate.
In the decades after her husband's death in 1959, Astor gave away nearly $200 million to support New York's great cultural institutions and a host of humbler projects, winning a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1998.
Her son is a former diplomat and sometime Broadway producer who won Tony awards in 2003 and 2004. He was born during a previous marriage to stockbroker Charles "Buddie" Marshall, who died in 1952. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
