ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Buzz Aldrin’s son is trying to stop his father from transferring assets from a trust in the latest dispute between the Apollo 11 moonwalker and two of his children over whether he is capable of managing his affairs.
Andrew Aldrin’s lawyer sent a letter last month to an associate in Morgan Stanley’s private wealth-management division with instructions not to transfer any assets from two financial accounts in the trust, which names the younger Aldrin as trustee.
Buzz Aldrin, 89, has tried to terminate the trust and wants the assets distributed to him.
The letter from Andrew Aldrin’s lawyer warns Morgan Stanley that the son, acting as trustee, will seek damages if his instructions aren’t followed.
“Please govern yourself accordingly,” the letter said.
Morgan Stanley asked a Florida court last week to decide if it should follow the instructions of Buzz Aldrin or his son. It doesn’t list the accounts’ value.
“Morgan Stanley cannot pay out or distribute the proceeds of the accounts without incurring conflicting claims to such proceeds by the parties in the instant action, including but not limited to Buzz Aldrin and Andrew Aldrin,” the financial firm said in a court filing.
The filing is in connection with a lawsuit Buzz Aldrin filed against Andrew Aldrin, daughter Janice Aldrin and a business manager in June. The suit accuses them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account, and slandering him by saying he has dementia.
Buzz Aldrin sued after the two children filed a petition claiming their father was suffering from memory loss, delusions, paranoia and confusion.
Morgan Stanley said it was seeking to intervene in the case “to protect itself from exposure to liability.”
Buzz Aldrin was the lunar module pilot when he and mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first two humans to walk on the moon on July 21, 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission.
Earlier this month, Aldrin attended the State of the Union address in Washington.
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