California Sen. Dianne Feinstein alleges financial abuse in lawsuit over her husband's estate

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has called to remove the trustees of her late husband’s estate, alleging that they committed financial abuse against her, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Feinstein’s late husband, Richard Blum, died last year. According to the lawsuit, he established a trust in the 1990s that was supposed to be created for the California lawmaker after his death. The trust was required to be funded with $5 million in cash and other securities, with Feinstein’s income distributed to her in frequent installments.

The lawsuit, filed by the senator's daughter, alleges that the current trustees of Blum’s account − Michael Klein, Marc Scholvinck and Verett Mims − haven't funded or made any of the required income distributions to the 90-year-old senator, and have refused Feinstein’s requests to do so.

“The Trustees have committed financial abuse of Senator Feinstein... by wrongfully withholding distributions to which the RCB Trust entitles her in bad faith and diverting assets that they should have used" to fund the trust, the lawsuit says.

Steven P. Braccini, attorney for Klein and Scholvinck, denied the accusations in a statement to USA TODAY.

“The trustees have acted ethically and appropriately at all times...This filing is unconscionable," Braccini said. "The trustees have always respected Senator Feinstein and always will. But this has nothing to do with her needs and everything to do with her daughter’s avarice.”

The filing marks the latest development in Feinstein’s legal struggle after her husband's death. She also filed lawsuits alleging similar misconduct in both June and July, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The July filing alleged that Feinstein had “incurred significant medical expenses.” Feinstein spent nearly three months away from Congress after she was hospitalized with shingles in March earlier this year, and she has suffered other illnesses and health scares.

In response to that filing, Steven Braccini, an attorney representing Klein and Scholvinck, said in a statement that his clients had “never denied any disbursement to Senator Feinstein, let alone for medical expenses,” according to CBS News. The August lawsuit denies Braccini's claim.

A hearing for the June case is scheduled later this month and a hearing for the July case is scheduled for September, the Chronicle reported.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dianne Feinstein alleges financial abuse in California estate lawsuit