- 20 - the fact that the agreement was between a father and son, strongly suggests that there was no arm’s-length bargain for the option price, but rather that the option was a testamentary device designed to pass decedent’s interest for less than adequate consideration. Moreover, the foregoing picture of the partners’ relative contributions is based almost entirely on Fred Jr.’s self-serving testimony at trial.7 In contrast to Fred Jr.’s efforts to portray the options in the instant proceeding as the product of an arm’s-length bargain, in their sworn testimony in the equitable distribution proceedings, Fred Jr. and decedent both characterized the options as “gifts”, suggesting that both thought it was decedent who was giving something of value to Fred Jr., not the other way around. We note also that decedent’s second wife provided detailed, credible testimony concerning decedent’s frequent trips (on which she accompanied him) to inspect each partnership property and attend to problems thereby discovered; that decedent had an entire career’s worth of 7 Petitioner also called as a witness a HUD official who corroborated Fred Jr.’s assertion that he was primarily responsible for the partnership’s dealings with HUD. However, we note that, in contrast to Fred Jr.’s emphasis in his testimony at trial in this case that the idea of developing HUD-assisted housing projects was entirely his own, when asked under oath 6 years earlier in connection with the equitable distribution proceedings whose idea it had been, Fred Jr. testified that he could not recall. The subsequent improvement in Fred Jr.’s recollection on this point in the instant proceeding--in a manner which serves his financial interests--casts doubt on the credibility of his other testimony in this proceeding.Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011