Estate of Mary D. Maggos - Page 23




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          disinterested witness.  Mr. Hite testified that the purpose of              
          the transaction was an “estate freeze”, a legitimate estate                 
          planning technique to move an appreciating asset out of                     
          decedent’s estate.16  He further testified that Nikita Maggos’              
          attorney, Victor Brezman, had planned the transaction.  Mr. Hite            
          did not question the redemption price that decedent and her son,            
          Nikita Maggos, had agreed upon because it satisfied decedent’s              


               16Mr. Hite testified:                                                  
               Q    And do you know who planned this transaction?                     
               A    It was Mr. Bezman.                                                
               Q    And did anyone describe the reasons for the                       
               transaction?                                                           
               A    Right; he explained that the value of this                        
               Pepsi-Cola bottling company was going up, and that they                
               wanted to  stop the value from going up any higher in Mrs.             
               Maggos’ estate, so they wanted to freeze it at the present             
               value.                                                                 
               Q    They wanted to freeze it at the present value?                    
               A    Right.                                                            
                    Q    Does a transaction--in the jargon of your trade,             
               does the--this transaction have a name?                                
               A    Well, it’s an estate freeze, is what it is, yes.                  
               Q    And were you aware of a concept of an estate                      
               freeze prior to this meeting?                                          
               A    Yes, of course.                                                   
               Q    Did you have any personal reservations about the                  
               legitimacy of an estate freeze?                                        
               A    No; it’s a perfectly legitimate legal transaction.                
               Q    Are there any parameters in which the transaction                 
               should fall?                                                           
               A    Well, when you say, “Freeze it at present value,”                 
               obviously the price the transaction is being placed at                 
               should be the fair market value of the property, the present           
               fair market value of the property.                                     
               Q    Uh-huh.  Was this meeting that occurred in your                   
               office a negotiating session?                                          
               A    No, it wasn’t.  It was--they came in, they said                   
               that they had reached this agreement with Mrs. Maggos, and             
               that she was going to redeem her stock at the $3 million               
               figure.                                                                





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