Dear Margot,
I am writing to you in your capacity as successor trustee of the Eldon M. Briarwood Irrevocable Family Trust and as Managing Director of Briarwood Family Office LLC to confirm the formal termination of the Eldon M. Briarwood Irrevocable Family Trust (EIN 13-7284915), effective today, May 20, 2024. As you know, the Trust was established pursuant to the Trust Agreement dated June 12, 1998, as amended by the First Amendment dated March 3, 2008, and the Second Amendment dated December 31, 2015. With all substantive administration now complete, I am pleased to report that all termination milestones have been achieved.
**Completed Distributions**
All in-kind real-estate distributions and cash equalization payments have been completed in accordance with the distribution plan approved by the beneficiaries. Specifically:
- 14 Waverly Place, Unit 4W, New York, NY 10003 (appraised FMV $8,750,000) and 602 Halsey Street, Brooklyn, NY 11233 (appraised FMV $4,200,000) were distributed to you, Margot S. Briarwood; - 27 Fenimore Road, Larchmont, NY 10538 (appraised FMV $6,150,000) was distributed to Tobias E. Briarwood; and - Cash equalization payments of $5,725,000 to you, $8,375,000 to Tobias E. Briarwood, and $8,300,000 to Nadia Briarwood-Chen were wired on April 22, 2024, from Caldwell Fiduciary Services Trust Account No. CFT-00298174.
All remaining securities and liquid assets were transferred as applicable. In total, distributions aggregated to $41,500,000, before administration costs of $367,550, which were deducted from the liquid-asset pool prior to final distribution.
**Deed Recording and Title Insurance**
Deeds for all three parcels were recorded, and owner's title-insurance policies were issued by Trident National Title Corp. on April 15, 2024. All applicable transfer taxes have been paid, including NYC Real Property Transfer Tax on the Halsey Street property ($59,850) and New York State transfer tax on the Fenimore Road property ($24,600), for a combined total of $84,450.
**Receipt, Release, and Refunding Agreements**
Receipt, release, and refunding agreements were executed by all three beneficiaries — Margot S. Briarwood, Tobias E. Briarwood, and Nadia Briarwood-Chen — on May 15, 2024. Each beneficiary has acknowledged receipt of his or her respective distributions and has released you, as successor trustee, and Caldwell Fiduciary Services Inc., as institutional co-trustee, from all claims arising from the administration of the Trust.
**Final Trust Accounting**
The final trust accounting was delivered to all beneficiaries on May 1, 2024. Howard Phelan and the team at Caldwell Fiduciary Services have completed all custodial and record-keeping responsibilities associated with the Trust.
**Final Tax Filing**
The one remaining administrative item is the preparation and filing of the final federal fiduciary income-tax return (Form 1041) for the short tax year ending May 20, 2024. Halford & Kline CPAs, under the direction of engagement partner Lorraine M. Casella, will prepare and file this return and will coordinate directly with Caldwell and Briarwood Family Office as needed. As a reminder, the Trust's grantor trust status terminated on December 31, 2015, pursuant to the Second Amendment, so the final return will reflect the Trust's status as a non-grantor trust for the entirety of this short tax year.
**Matter Closing**
With the Trust now formally terminated and all deliverables completed, Calderwood & Harkness LLP matter number 1026-00005 is hereby closed effective today, May 20, 2024. The firm's flat engagement fee of $185,000 has been paid from the Trust corpus, along with all other administration costs referenced above. We will retain the matter file in accordance with our standard document-retention policies. As you may recall, Rafael Dominguez has already provided the complete closing checklist and document binder separately to both Briarwood Family Office and Caldwell Fiduciary Services. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of our team should questions arise in the future regarding the file or any related matter.
**Acknowledgments**
On behalf of our entire engagement team — George Trujillo, Grace Nakamura, Rafael Dominguez, and Sylvia Hartwell — I want to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to assist Briarwood Family Office and the Briarwood family in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion. The process was made considerably smoother by the excellent collaboration among all parties involved, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge the professionalism and responsiveness of Howard Phelan and the team at Caldwell Fiduciary Services, Janet C. Okonkwo at Reedlaw & Stein LLP (counsel to Tobias), Derek T. Winstead at Pinnacle Valuation Group, Lorraine Casella and her colleagues at Halford & Kline, and Trident National Title Corp.
Margot, it has been a genuine pleasure working with you and your family on this engagement. Should Briarwood Family Office or any member of the Briarwood family require assistance with any future matter, we would welcome the opportunity to be of service.
With warm regards,
Patricia Dunmore Partner Calderwood & Harkness LLP 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10005 Tel: (212) 555-0147 Email: pdunmore@calderwoodharkness.com
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