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Mr. Renbarger attributes the more-than-2-year lag in payment
to respondent’s failure to consent to a release of the funds. We
disagree. As respondent explains, the escrow agreement stated
that the funds could be released either when respondent sent a
closing letter to the escrow agent or “otherwise [consented]”.
Respondent consented on June 6, 2001, in a letter specifically
requesting the estate to provide a “check for $1,564,405.89 plus
interest, which is currently being held in escrow”. Despite this
consent to release, Mr. Renbarger continued to wait another year
before he transmitted the funds to respondent, and even then
transferred only a portion of the full escrow amount.
Mr. Renbarger also ignored advice from his tax adviser, who
specifically recommended that he transmit the escrowed funds to
respondent earlier. Mr. Renbarger cavalierly explained that he
knew the funds belonged to respondent and that he expected
respondent to come and collect the money when he was ready. The
estate benefited from the additional interest that accumulated on
the escrowed funds in the meantime.
We find that the estate failed to exercise ordinary business
care and prudence in waiting more than a year to transmit the
escrowed funds to respondent, contrary to respondent’s explicit
consent and contrary to the advice of the estate’s tax adviser.
III. The Estate’s Plan To Pay the Federal Estate Tax
We turn now to the merits of Mr. Renbarger’s “plan” to raise
capital to pay the estate’s Federal estate tax. The plan
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