Buzz Aldrin in financial dispute with children
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and a former business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia.
Mr Aldrin’s lawsuit filed this month in a Florida state court came a week after his children, Andrew and Janice, filed a petition claiming their father was suffering from memory loss, delusions, paranoia and confusion. They asked for the court to name them his legal guardians, saying Mr Aldrin was associating with new friends who were trying to alienate him from his family and that he had been spending his assets at “an alarming rate”.
Court-appointed mentalhealth experts planned to evaluate Mr Aldrin, 88, in Florida this week.
In April, he underwent his own evaluation conducted by a geriatric psychiatrist at UCLA, who said for his age, on tests Mr Aldrin scored “superior to normal”.
“I also believe that he is perfectly capable of providing for his physical health needs, food, clothing and shelter, and is substantially able to manage his finances and resist fraud and undue influence,” said Dr James Spar in a letter to Mr Aldrin’s attorney.
In Mr Aldrin’s lawsuit, the former astronaut asked a judge to remove Andrew from control of his financial affairs, social-media accounts and several non-profit and business enterprises. Andrew Aldrin had been a trustee of his father’s trust. Buzz Aldrin said in the complaint that despite revoking the power of attorney he had given his son, Andrew continued making financial decisions for him.
“Specifically, defendant Andrew Aldrin, as trustee, does not inform plaintiff of pending or future business transactions, removes large sums of monies from plaintiff’s accounts, and continues to represent plaintiff in business and social capacities despite plaintiff’s repeated requests for such representations to be terminated,” the lawsuit said.
In the lawsuit Mr Aldrin accused Janice of not acting in his financial interests and conspiracy, and accused his former manager, Christina Korp, of fraud, exploitation of the elderly and unjust enrichment. Also named in the lawsuit are several businesses and foundations run by the family.