48 Hours Before Death, Epstein Rewrote His $577 Million Trust. Here Is Every Name in It.

On August 8, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein signed a new trust agreement in New York City. It was notarized by Mariana A. Melendez. He renamed his trust "The 1953 Trust," after the year of his birth. Two days later, he was dead.

His co-trustee Richard D. Kahn signed the document on August 10, the day Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. The other co-trustee, attorney Darren K. Indyke, signed on August 15 in Palm Beach.

The existence of Epstein's trust is not new. What has never been reported is a comprehensive comparison of the three versions that survive in the DOJ file releases, showing exactly what changed in those final days and why those changes matter.

Three Trusts in Seven Months

The DOJ files contain three distinct versions of Epstein's trust, each progressively more complex:

Version 1: The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2019 Trust (January 18, 2019). Document EFTA00098341, 94,183 characters of OCR text. Created just months before his arrest, revoking a 2018 trust.

Version 2: The Amended and Restated 2019 Trust (February 4, 2019). Document EFTA01266168, 100,226 characters. Substantially expanded with 49 numbered bequests, detailed property distributions, and a fallback Schedule B.

Version 3: The 1953 Trust (August 8, 2019). Document EFTA00099303, 89,022 characters. Signed two days before death. Dramatically restructured. Several beneficiaries added, others removed, and amounts significantly increased across the board.

All three name Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn as co-trustees, with annual compensation of $250,000 each and executor fees of $250,000 each upon completion of probate. The successor trustee in all versions is Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama.

Who Got What: The February Trust

The February 4 Amended Trust lists 49 numbered bequests. Many names are redacted (believed to be victims or minors), but the named beneficiaries include:

Karyna Shuliak, described in media reports as Epstein's girlfriend, received the largest allocation: $100 million in cash, a $20 million annuity, the Paris apartment at 22 Avenue Foch (held through SCI JEP), the Palm Beach estate at 358 El Brillo Way (through Laurel Inc.), 48 loose diamonds, and a 32.73-carat D/VS1 diamond ring.

Darren K. Indyke, co-trustee and Epstein's personal attorney, received $20 million in cash. His wife, Michelle Fern Saipher, received $3 million separately to repay obligations to KCAC/FT Real Estate.

Richard D. Kahn, co-trustee and Epstein's accountant, received $20 million in cash.

Staff members received bequests ranging from $500,000 to $2 million: Lesley Katherine Groff (executive assistant, $2 million), Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr. (chief pilot, $2 million), Valdson Viera Contrin ($2 million), Ann Rodriquez ($2 million annuity), Luciano A. Fontanilla Jr. ($1 million plus a property in Valley Stream, NY held through Lyn & Jojo LLC), Kathy Lindeman ($2 million), Carluz N. Toylo ($500,000), Arline M. Toylo ($500,000), Merwin Dela Cruz ($500,000), Bella Klein ($500,000), and David Rogers ($1 million).

Academic associates also appeared: Edward Roed Larsen and Emma Roed Larsen each received $2 million. Martin Nowack received $2 million.

The residual estate, after all specific bequests, went 100% to a redacted female name. If she predeceased Epstein or disclaimed, the residual went to another redacted name. If both failed, it fell to Schedule B, which allocated: Karyna Shuliak 50%, Lisa Kahn (Richard Kahn's wife) 5%, Max G. Kahn and Lyla B. Kahn (the Kahn children) 5% each, Michelle F. Saipher and the Indyke children (Samantha M. Indyke, Hannah E. Indyke) 5% each, with the remaining 20% split between two redacted names at 10% each.

One name stands out in the February trust: Celina Edith Dubin, the daughter of hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin, received the three most valuable island properties (Zorro Ranch in New Mexico through Cypress Inc., Little St. James through Nautilus Inc., and Great St. James through Poplar Inc.) plus a $10 million operating fund.

What Changed in 48 Hours

The 1953 Trust, signed August 8, represents a dramatic restructuring. A side-by-side comparison reveals changes that raise serious questions about the circumstances of Epstein's death and the motivations of those around him.

Ghislaine Maxwell was added as a $10 million beneficiary. She does not appear anywhere in the January or February versions. Her inclusion in the final trust, signed while Epstein was in federal custody awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in which Maxwell was widely understood to be a co-conspirator, is perhaps the most striking single change.

Celina Dubin was removed as a property beneficiary. In the February trust, she inherited three properties worth tens of millions. In the 1953 Trust, all six properties go to Karyna Shuliak with $5 million operating funds per property (up to $30 million total). What happened between February and August to cause this change has never been publicly explained.

The trustees' payouts increased dramatically. Indyke went from $20 million to $50 million. Kahn went from $20 million to $25 million. Combined, the two men who controlled the trust's administration received $75 million, up from $40 million, a figure that became central to the USVI Attorney General's lawsuit alleging self-dealing.

Staff payouts were increased across the board. Visoski went from $2 million to $10 million. Bella Klein from $500,000 to $3 million. Fontanilla from $1 million to $3 million. Merwin Dela Cruz from $500,000 to $3 million. Valdson Contrin from $2 million to $5 million. The Toylos from $500,000 each to $1 million each. Edward Roed Larsen from $2 million to $5 million.

New beneficiaries were added who appear nowhere in earlier versions:

• Mark Epstein (Jeffrey's brother): $10 million in trust for his children
• Perry Bard: $3 million
• Brice Gordon (island manager): $2 million
• Peter St. Omer: $1 million
• Dupson Donissaint: $1 million
• Pierre Jules: $1 million
• Cecile de Jongh (former USVI First Lady): $1 million
• Jeanne Brennan Wiebracht: $1 million
• Jermaine Ruan: $1 million
• Daphne Wallace: $1 million
• Una Pascal: $1 million

The claims defense fund jumped from $2 million to $50 million. This 2,500 percent increase, embedded in the trust signed just two days before Epstein's death, suggests an awareness that massive litigation was coming. It was.

Schedule B was eliminated entirely. In the February trust, the residual estate was distributed by percentage to named individuals. In the 1953 Trust, the residual goes pro rata to all beneficiaries in Sections 2.3(A)(4) through (41), eliminating the specific percentage allocations that had favored the trustees' families.

The Shell Companies

The trust did not hold properties directly. Instead, Epstein used a network of USVI-incorporated shell companies, each holding a single asset:

Maple Inc. held 9 East 71st Street, the Manhattan townhouse. Laurel Inc. held 358 El Brillo Way in Palm Beach. Nautilus Inc. held Little St. James. Poplar Inc. (through Great St. Jim LLC) held Great St. James. Cypress Inc. held Zorro Ranch. SCI JEP, a French company, held 999 of 1,000 shares of 22 Avenue Foch in Paris.

Schedule A of the trust lists the initial funding at just $100. The real assets flowed in through a pour-over provision in Epstein's Will, which directed the executors (also Indyke and Kahn) to transfer the entire probate estate into the trust.

The No-Contest Clause

Both the February and August trusts contain an in terrorem provision: any beneficiary who contests the trust, challenges the Will, or attempts to remove a trustee forfeits all distributions and is treated as having predeceased Epstein. This clause effectively silenced every beneficiary from questioning the trust's terms, the trustees' compensation, or the circumstances of Epstein's death.

What Happened to the Money

The Epstein estate was valued at approximately $577 million at the time of his death. The USVI Attorney General filed a civil enforcement action alleging that the trust was structured to shield assets from victims. JPMorgan Chase settled a related class action for $290 million. Deutsche Bank settled for $75 million. The estate itself established a Victims' Compensation Program, administered by Jordy Feldman, which paid out approximately $121 million to over 100 survivors. An additional $49 million went to other settlements. In February 2026, the estate agreed to a further $35 million to resolve a class action by former advisers.

The properties were sold: the Manhattan townhouse for approximately $51 million, with other dispositions still working through the courts.

In total, the Epstein estate and its banking partners have paid or committed approximately $570 million in victim compensation. The trust that was designed to preserve Epstein's wealth has instead become the instrument of its distribution to those he harmed.

But the questions raised by the 48-hour rewrite remain. Why was Maxwell added? Why was Dubin removed? Why did the trustees grant themselves an additional $35 million? And why was the legal defense fund increased twenty-five-fold in the trust signed on the last full day of Epstein's life?

The documents do not answer these questions. They only prove that someone thought it was urgent enough to answer them in writing, two days before the end.

All trust documents referenced in this article are from the U.S. Department of Justice Epstein file releases. The original trust (EFTA00098341), the February amendment (EFTA01266168), and the 1953 Trust (EFTA00099303) are accessible through the Epstein Exposed document database.