Aging US Senator Hands Power of Attorney to Daughter

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has given her daughter power of attorney. Feinstein is 90 years old and is the oldest U.S. senator.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in Washington on July 27, 2023. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest U.S. senator, has given her daughter power of attorney, according to court filings.

Katherine Feinstein, the daughter of Ms. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), 90, said she had become the senator’s “attorney in fact” in a filing entered in California court and reviewed by The Epoch Times.

The filing was part of one of the cases Ms. Katherine Feinstein has lodged on behalf of her mother to try to settle a family dispute over how funds are dispersed following the death of Ms. Dianne Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum. Another case stated that trustees have failed to distribute funds to reimburse the senator’s medical expenses.

Ms. Dianne Feinstein also resigned as a co-trustee of a joint trust she shared with Mr. Blum, according to documents submitted to the court.

“This is a private legal matter. Sen. Feinstein and her office won’t have any comment,” a spokesperson for the senator told media outlets.

Ms. Katherine Feinstein didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Dianne Feinstein has already pledged to not run for reelection in 2024. Some constituents and other California residents have called for her to step down before her term ends because of her health issues.

She returned to Washington in May for the first time in months after being hospitalized with what staffers said was shingles. She has been in a wheelchair since her hospitalization.

Ms. Dianne Feinstein claimed that she hadn’t been gone from the Capitol, appearing to suffer a memory lapse, and has been increasingly guided by aides as she navigates congressional business.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is assisted to a wheelchair by staff as she returns to the Senate after a months-long absence, at the Capitol, on May 10, 2023. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

Questions on Process

Ms. Katherine Feinstein filed the claims against Michael Klein, who became co-trustee of the joint Feinstein and Blum trust.

After Mr. Blum died on Feb. 7, 2022, some money was supposed to go into a separate trust for Ms. Dianne Feinstein, but that trust hasn’t been funded at all, Ms. Katherine Feinstein alleges.

She has asked Mr. Klein to allow the sale of a property in Stinson Beach to fund the trust, but he has so far declined to move on that request, according to documents submitted to the court. Ms. Katherine Feinstein said she believes that Mr. Blum’s daughters want to keep using the property in question and that they would like to prevent its sale to “decrease the yearly distributions to Senator Feinstein and increase the value of their inheritance at Senator Feinstein’s death.”

The property is worth an estimated $3.2 million, although other homes in the area have sold for more in recent years.

Ms. Katherine Feinstein asked the court to force the co-trustees to sell the property and transfer a part of the proceeds to the trust for Ms. Dianne Feinstein.

In the other case, lawyers for Ms. Dianne Feinstein and Ms. Katherine Feinstein said the senator “has incurred significant medical expenses” and has asked for reimbursement from funds from Mr. Blum’s life insurance proceeds but that the reimbursement hasn’t yet been paid. They said that the court should name Ms. Katherine Feinstein as the person who controls the trust, alleging the trustees were improperly appointed.

“The purported trustees have refused to make distributions to reimburse Sen. Feinstein’s medical expenses,” a filing reads.

The trusts contain a fraction of Ms. Dianne Feinstein’s net worth, which is estimated at up to $120 million.

Steven P. Braccini, an attorney representing Mr. Klein, told The Epoch Times via email that the trust hasn’t denied any disbursements to the senator.

“We have not been presented with any evidence showing that Katherine Feinstein has power of attorney for her mother; nor has Katherine made it clear ... why a sitting United States senator would require someone to have power of attorney over her,” Mr. Braccini said. “While my clients are deeply concerned, we all remain hopeful that this is simply a misunderstanding that can be quickly resolved, rather than a stepdaughter engaging in some kind of misguided attempt to gain control over trust assets to which she is not entitled.”

Powers of Attorney

Loren Barr, an attorney, told the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the news, that there are different versions of powers of attorney. One type is when the person becomes incapacitated and can’t read documents or sign them.

“The other time it’s done is somebody is old and tired and doesn’t have the energy to travel if they’re out of town,” Mr. Barr said. “There are general powers of attorney that have almost everything in it. But then there are also limited powers of attorney that are used for a particular purpose. So when my friend moved to England and wanted to sell his house out here in the East Bay, he gave me a power to sell the house.”