The family feud over a $2.6 billion New York property empire

The heirs to Sol Goldman’s real estate fortune are taking a new step in their battle over a property empire worth more than $US1.7 billion ($2.6 billion).

One of Sol’s daughters, Amy Goldman Fowler, and a grandson, Steven Gurney-Goldman, asked a New York court to remove two of Sol’s daughters, Jane Goldman and Diane Goldman Kemper, as executors of the estate of Lillian Goldman, Sol’s wife who died more than two decades ago.

An undated photo of Sol and Lillian Goldman.

Lillian’s estate was most recently valued at $US656 million in 2022, and her trust was valued at $US1.07 billion. The family owns interests in marquee Manhattan properties including the ground leases for the Mark Hotel and the Peninsula New York hotel.

In filings in Surrogate’s Court in New York — which handles wills and estates — Steven and Amy allege that Jane has made efforts to wrest control of the property empire from certain family members and has refused to distribute the estate and trust’s assets in the two decades since Lillian died. Amy and Steven are also separately seeking to remove Jane as a trustee of the Lillian Goldman Marital Trust, according to one of the filings.

Steven and Amy claim that, as of 2022, the estate and trust had $US100 million in liquid assets that could “easily be distributed” to the beneficiaries, but allege that Jane and Diane were holding those assets hostage.

Amy Goldman Fowler, and a grandson, Steven Gurney-Goldman, asked a New York court to remove two of Sol’s daughters, Jane Goldman and Diane Goldman Kemper, as executors of the estateCredit: Getty Images for New York Restoration Project

“Steven and Amy’s latest filing in Surrogate’s Court attempts to revive claims that were a part of that baseless scheme and that the New York Supreme Court dismissed last year for having been filed in the wrong forum, over Steven and Amy’s strong objection,” Jane and Diane’s lawyer Jason Cyrulnik said. “We look forward to further exposing their leverage scheme and defeating it in due course.”

In one document filed Wednesday, Steven alleges that Jane uses Diane as her proxy to obtain control over estate assets. Steven also alleged concerns about Diane’s lack of capacity to serve as co-executor, citing an instance in 2024 when he claimed Diane couldn’t recall key details of the family business structure during a deposition.

“Sadly, Diane suffers from substantial health issues that have diminished her mental capacity to the point that she can no longer serve as co-executor of the Estate,” according to Steven’s filing. “In fact, as a result of her incapacity, Diane is currently unaware that she is serving as co-executor, which has enabled Jane to take advantage of Diane to the detriment of other beneficiaries.”

Years of fights

The family’s disputes over the assets trace back to the death of Sol Goldman in 1987. Amy, Jane and Diane are Lillian and Sol’s daughters, and the couple also had a son named Allan. After Lillian died in 2002, her children were appointed as executors for her estate. Steven is Lillian and Sol’s grandson and became executor of the estate of his father, Allan, when he died in 2022.

The fight over the Goldman real estate assets has been drawn out in part because Lillian began a divorce proceeding from Sol just a few years before he died, according to the New York Times. Sol said if Lillian came back to him, he would give her a third of his fortune when he died. That eventually sparked a battle that wound itself through Surrogate’s Court in the years following his death.

The family owns interests in marquee Manhattan properties including the ground leases for the Mark Hotel and the Peninsula New York hotel.

Conflict over Lillian’s estate particularly ramped up after Allan died two decades later. In 2023, Steven and Amy sued Jane in Delaware and New York courts, accusing her of using Allan’s death as an opportunity to seize control over the family empire and for undervaluing the real estate portfolio.

Jane has pushed back against such allegations, calling them “works of fiction,” while alleging that her sister and nephew are trying to “extract disproportionate benefits for themselves.” Steven and Amy scored a victory in Delaware, after a judge’s ruling that Jane shares management of a key Goldman family company — SG Windsor — with other family members.

In April, Jane filed a notice that she intended to appeal that decision. The New York lawsuit, centred around the appraisal of family properties, is still awaiting trial.

Bloomberg

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