Jeffrey Epstein signed a new will on August 8 2019, two days before his death, directing his estate, then valued at about $577 million, into an entity called the 1953 Trust.
Named for Epstein's birth year, the pour-over structure moved assets out of the public probate inventory and into a private instrument. The January 2026 Justice Department release included that 32-page trust agreement. It lists intended bequests to named people, including Karyna Shuliak, co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Mark Epstein. Several other names in the file remain redacted. Those figures are planned gifts. They are not proof of distributions, and they sit behind creditor claims, victim compensation, tax liabilities, and court-supervised expenses.12
Status (September 2026)
Government claims and the bulk of the 2020–21 survivor compensation program have been paid. Earlier estate reporting put residual assets at roughly $145 million after the IRS refund. That historical estimate does not establish the balance available in September 2026. Remaining claims, expenses and estate administration affect any eventual beneficiary distributions.
The SDNY executor class action, now captioned Ward v. Indyke and Kahn, is a proposed settlement awaiting a September 16, 2026 final hearing. If that deal is approved and funded, it will further reduce the residual pool. The trust may then terminate and pay what is left, or continue as a private vehicle. Either outcome depends on the court, not on the 2019 gift schedule.
Formation and Legal Structure
Epstein's twenty-page will references a "Trust Agreement dated August 8 2019," establishing the 1953 Trust under USVI law the same day the will was signed.
The will immediately "gifts" all real and personal property — including cash, securities, five properties, aircraft, and art — into the trust, avoiding asset-by-asset probate disclosure.
Court filings confirm that long-time advisers Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn act simultaneously as co-executors of the estate and administrators of the trust, giving them sweeping control.
Asset Transfer Mechanics
The estate inventory attached to the will lists $56 million in cash, $196 million in hedge-fund and private-equity interests, $18 million in vehicles, aircraft, and boats, plus real estate from Manhattan to New Mexico.
The Certificate of Trust filed in 2019 did not attach the beneficiary schedule, which is why prosecutors and victim advocates spent years describing the heirs as unknown. That filing is still the public probate paper. It is no longer the last word on who Epstein named. Creditors and survivors could still sue the trustees or the trust itself. The pour-over did not create an absolute shield.
Administration and Beneficiaries
On August 26 2019 a Certificate of Trust was filed in USVI probate court, naming Indyke and Kahn as the only disclosed fiduciaries and omitting the beneficiary list.
The January 2026 release of the instrument itself, document EFTA01266204, changed that. Reporting on the unredacted names, consistent across the New York Times and ABC News, describes the largest intended gifts as roughly $50 million plus a $50 million annuity and specified personal property to Shuliak, $50 million to Indyke, $25 million to Kahn, and $10 million each to Maxwell and to Mark Epstein, the latter described as held for his children. Martin Nowak, the Harvard mathematician, is reported as a $5 million intended recipient. Other names are redacted.123
Indyke and Kahn remain co-trustees as well as intended beneficiaries. In March 2026 congressional testimony Kahn said he expected to receive nothing from the 1953 Trust given remaining assets and obligations, aside from the $250,000 executor fee due when the estate is closed. Planned bequests are not present entitlement.4
Litigation and Challenges
The 1953 Trust is a named defendant in multiple actions. USVI's January 15 2020 racketeering complaint alleges the trust held proceeds of a trafficking "enterprise" that operated from Little St. James.
Victims also sued the estate and trust directly in federal and territorial courts, claiming fraudulent conveyance and complicity. Epstein's executors argued the trust structure was standard estate planning, yet judges repeatedly compelled limited discovery into its assets.
Settlement and Current Status
After nearly three years of litigation, USVI announced a $105 million global settlement with the estate, the 1953 Trust, and ten affiliated entities on November 30 2022. Terms require the estate to sell Little St. James and pay half the net proceeds to USVI, to fund services for trafficking survivors — the trust remains intact but must support these payments.
Separate victim-compensation efforts have distributed about $125 million, drawn from trust-controlled funds with court oversight. The 2020 Epstein Victims' Compensation Program release is a broad civil waiver of claims against the estate and the trust. It expressly permits a claimant to disclose her experience and her compensation. See Ward v. Indyke and Kahn for the release terms.5
Timeline of Key Filings and Actions
The 1953 Trust remains the estate's central holding vehicle. It is now legally bound to finance settlements, tax liabilities, and victim compensation. Intended heirs wait on whatever residue survives those claims.
2021–2025: Escalation, Settlements, and Winding-Down
The U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General dramatically escalated her racketeering suit by adding co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as individual defendants.6
Leveraging material from more than sixty third-party subpoenas, the amended complaint portrayed the pair as knowing "captains" of Epstein's enterprise — managing at least 140 bank accounts, structuring large cash withdrawals, and orchestrating payments and even sham marriages that kept victims compliant.
Converted prime real estate into cash earmarked for survivors:
- $51 million sale of the Manhattan townhouse (March)7
- $18 million sale of the Palm Beach estate (July)8
The Epstein Victims' Compensation Program closed on 9 August 2021 after awarding ≈ $125 million to ~150 claimants — 92 % of eligible survivors accepted offers.9
Court filings revealed estate assets had fallen to $166 million (from a probate valuation of $656 million in 2019, higher than the $577 million claimed in the will itself) after roughly $175 million in taxes and $150 million in victim payouts.10
At a St Thomas hearing, counsel told the judge the parties were "extraordinarily close" to resolving the government's civil-racketeering case — litigation was stayed to finalize terms.
December 2022 — Global Settlement With the USV
The estate, the 1953 Trust, and ten Epstein entities agreed to11
- $105 million cash payment to the USVI
- forfeiture of 50 % of Little St. James sale proceeds (≈ $30 million)
- $450 k for environmental remediation on Great St. James, and
- permanent wind-down of all Epstein business operations in the territory
March – August 2023 — Disposition of Remaining Real Estate
- Both Virgin Islands islands sold together for $60 million (highest sale in VI history), the government immediately received half of the Little St. James proceeds12
- The New Mexico Zorro Ranch changed hands in August 2023 (price reported ≈ $18-20 million), marking the liquidation of every major Epstein property
September 2024 — $111.6 Million IRS Refund
Because the executors had over-estimated asset values on the estate-tax return, the IRS issued a $111.6 million refund, ballooning residual estate assets to about $145 million. That was a historical estimate following the refund, not a September 2026 balance.13
2024–2025 — Ongoing SDNY Litigation Against the Executors
Two survivors (Jane Doe 3 and Danielle Bensky) filed suit in federal court accusing Indyke and Kahn of actively facilitating sex trafficking.14 In August 2024 the judge dismissed Bensky's claims because of a prior release and allowed core trafficking counts to proceed as to Jane Doe 3. The live class caption is now Allyson Ward. Any eventual payment could still tap trust assets, so the trustees are expected to withhold a reserve pending final court action.
February 2026, proposed $35 million executor settlement
On February 19, 2026 the estate representatives agreed to settle the class action, now Ward v. Indyke, for up to $35 million, covering women trafficked and abused by Epstein between 1995 and 2019 who have not already released the estate.1516 The structure pays $35 million if 40 or more eligible claimants qualify and $25 million if fewer than 40 do. Neither Indyke nor Kahn admitted misconduct. The court set a final hearing for September 16, 2026. Until that hearing is held and a judgment becomes final, the deal is proposed, not paid. Money for it would come from the same trust-controlled funds the IRS refund replenished, which would reduce whatever residue might later reach the people named in the 2019 bequest schedule.
References
Footnotes
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1953 Trust instrument, EFTA01266204, U.S. Department of Justice Epstein library ↩ ↩2
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Jeffrey Epstein's Trust Reveals Beneficiaries of His Fortune, New York Times, Feb. 3, 2026 ↩ ↩2
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How Epstein planned to dole out his millions, new documents show, ABC News, Jan. 30, 2026 ↩
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Epstein Accountant, Lawyer Explain Finances in Congress Testimony, Business Insider, March 25, 2026 ↩
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Epstein Victims' Compensation Program General Release, October 3, 2020, page 4 ↩
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Epstein estate reaches up to $35 million settlement with victims (Feb 20, 2026), CNN ↩
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SDNY Settlement Fund 2026, court-authorized administrator site ↩