The Kahn Family and Jeffrey Epstein’s Trusts

UpdatedSeptember 8, 2026

ByEpsteinWiki

Snapshot

Richard D. Kahn was Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant, financial administrator, corporate officer, trustee, and eventual coexecutor. Records released through the Justice Department’s Epstein Library show that Epstein also included Kahn and members of Kahn’s immediate family in plans for distributing his wealth.

A January 2019 trust placed Lisa Kahn, Max G. Kahn, and Lyla B. Kahn on a contingent distribution schedule. Each was assigned a five percent interest in that schedule. Together, the three Kahn family interests represented fifteen percent of the listed contingent distributions.

Epstein amended the trust in February 2019 and directed a separate $20 million bequest to Richard Kahn. His final trust, signed on August 8, 2019, increased Richard Kahn’s proposed bequest to $25 million and retained Kahn as a trustee.

These documents establish proposed financial benefits. They do not establish that the Kahn family received the stated amounts. Estate debts, survivor compensation, taxes, settlements, litigation costs, and continuing probate proceedings have substantially reduced the property available for distribution.

The evidence also does not accuse Lisa Kahn, Max Kahn, or Lyla Kahn of participating in Epstein’s crimes. Their importance to the record comes from Epstein’s decision to place the family of one of his most powerful financial administrators inside his estate plans.

Richard Kahn’s Role in Epstein’s Financial System

Richard Kahn worked for Epstein through HBRK Associates and held positions across Epstein’s financial structure. Records identify him in accounting, banking, corporate governance, trust administration, tax preparation, and payment authorization.

This was considerably broader than preparing annual tax returns. Kahn appeared in records involving Southern Trust Company, brokerage accounts, bank compliance reviews, corporate transactions, wire transfers, property matters, and Epstein’s personal estate planning.

That operational history matters because Epstein did not merely name an outside accountant in his trust. He appointed a person already deeply involved in his financial administration as a trustee and beneficiary. Epstein also created possible financial interests for Kahn’s wife and children.

Kahn and attorney Darren K. Indyke later became coexecutors of the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein.

The January 2019 Trust

Epstein executed the Jeffrey E. Epstein 2019 Trust on January 18, 2019. The agreement named Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as trustees and expressly revoked Epstein’s previous 2018 trust.

The full agreement appears in EFTA01266134. The opening pages identify Epstein as grantor and Indyke and Kahn as trustees.

The critical family provision appears in Schedule B on page 34. That schedule assigns:

Lisa Kahn five percent.

Max G. Kahn five percent.

Lyla B. Kahn five percent.

The three entries total fifteen percent of Schedule B.

However, Schedule B was not an immediate unconditional gift. The main trust provisions directed property through a sequence of primary and contingent beneficiaries. The people named on Schedule B would receive the remaining principal and income only if the preceding distribution conditions were triggered.

That distinction is essential. The document demonstrates that Epstein intended members of Kahn’s family to occupy significant contingent positions in his estate plan. It does not prove that those interests vested or that any money was paid.

The same trust appears in several released copies. These include EFTA00098341, EFTA00128887, and EFTA00128921. These are duplicate or closely corresponding copies of the trust, not separate grants of additional money.

The February 2019 Amendment

On February 4, 2019, Epstein executed an amended and restated version of the 2019 trust. The amended document is available as EFTA01266168.

The revised agreement retained Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke as trustees. It also directed a separate $20 million distribution to Richard David Kahn if he survived Epstein.

This was distinct from the contingent interests assigned to Lisa, Max, and Lyla Kahn in Schedule B. Richard Kahn’s benefit was expressed as a specific monetary bequest, while the family entries represented percentages within a contingent distribution schedule.

The amended agreement also addressed financial obligations involving Richard and Lisa Kahn and entities beneficially owned by either of them. The language named Coatue Enterprises, LLC as one example. The relevant provision can be reviewed in the trust’s financial obligations section.

The document directed the trustees to treat covered outstanding obligations as distributions to Richard Kahn or his successors before treating those obligations as repaid. This provision shows how Epstein’s estate planning intersected with existing financial relationships involving Kahn and related entities.

It does not, by itself, establish that every referenced obligation was improper. It does show that Epstein anticipated unresolved financial relationships with Kahn and created a mechanism for handling them after his death.

The Final 1953 Trust

Epstein amended his estate plan again on August 8, 2019, two days before his death. The resulting agreement was called the 1953 Trust, apparently referring to Epstein’s birth year.

The complete agreement is preserved as EFTA01266204. Its opening section confirms the January 18 trust and the February 4 amendment before restating the agreement again.

The final trust retained Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as trustees. It proposed a $25 million bequest to Richard Kahn, increasing the $20 million amount contained in the February agreement.

The trust operated with Epstein’s final will as a pour over arrangement. Property remaining in the probate estate was intended to pass into the trust after debts, taxes, claims, expenses, and other legal obligations were resolved.

Epstein’s final plan therefore placed Richard Kahn in several overlapping positions. He was an accountant who had helped administer Epstein’s finances, a trustee charged with managing the trust, a coexecutor responsible for the estate, and a proposed beneficiary of $25 million.

That overlap does not automatically prove unlawful conduct. It does create a significant conflict question because Kahn helped administer an estate from which Epstein intended him to receive one of the largest individual bequests.

What Happened to the Proposed Family Interests

The January trust’s Schedule B interests should not be confused with confirmed inheritances.

Epstein amended his trust more than once. Later versions changed beneficiaries, amounts, property instructions, and distribution priorities. The final 1953 Trust did not preserve Schedule B in the same form as the January agreement.

Consequently, Lisa Kahn, Max Kahn, and Lyla Kahn should be described as contingent beneficiaries under the January 2019 trust, not as confirmed recipients of Epstein’s money.

There is currently no verified public evidence showing that they received the percentages listed in that version of the trust.

Richard Kahn’s proposed bequest presents a separate issue. The final trust identified him for a $25 million distribution, but the estate first had to pay valid claims and expenses. The estate has spent substantial sums on survivor compensation, civil settlements, taxes, administration, and litigation.

Actual receipt of the full $25 million has not been established.

Estate Litigation and Survivor Claims

In 2024, survivors filed a civil action accusing Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke of helping Epstein maintain the financial infrastructure that supported and concealed his trafficking operation. Kahn and Indyke denied wrongdoing.

In February 2026, the parties announced an agreement under which Epstein’s estate would pay at least $25 million and as much as $35 million to resolve the class action. The amount depends on the number of eligible claimants.

A federal judge granted preliminary approval in March 2026. A final approval hearing was scheduled for September 16, 2026. According to Reuters reporting on the preliminary approval, neither Kahn nor Indyke admitted misconduct through the settlement.

The settlement is paid from estate resources rather than being described as a personal payment by the two executors. It therefore further reduces the estate property potentially available to trust beneficiaries.

The estate previously established a compensation program that paid approximately $121 million to survivors. Additional individual settlements and the estate’s agreement with the United States Virgin Islands created further obligations.

Congressional Examination of Richard Kahn

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform questioned Richard Kahn on March 11, 2026. The committee later released video of Kahn’s deposition.

Kahn reportedly characterized his relationship with Epstein as professional and denied knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct.

The trust records provide important context for evaluating that description. They show that Epstein appointed Kahn as a trustee, proposed leaving him tens of millions of dollars, addressed debts involving Kahn and related entities, and placed Kahn’s wife and children on an earlier contingent distribution schedule.

These facts do not prove that Kahn knew about Epstein’s sexual abuse. They do establish that the financial relationship extended beyond ordinary accounting fees and routine tax preparation.

What the Evidence Establishes

The released records establish that Richard Kahn was one of Epstein’s central financial and estate administrators.

They establish that Epstein’s January 2019 trust assigned contingent Schedule B interests of five percent each to Lisa Kahn, Max G. Kahn, and Lyla B. Kahn.

They establish that Epstein’s February 2019 trust proposed a separate $20 million bequest to Richard Kahn.

They establish that Epstein’s final 1953 Trust increased Richard Kahn’s proposed bequest to $25 million and retained him as a trustee.

They establish that Kahn and Indyke became coexecutors of Epstein’s estate and were later defendants in survivor litigation.

They do not establish that Lisa Kahn, Max Kahn, or Lyla Kahn participated in Epstein’s crimes.

They do not establish that the Kahn family received the amounts or percentages described in the documents.

Why This Matters

The Kahn family provisions reveal how Epstein’s financial and personal networks converged inside his estate planning.

Epstein did not reserve proposed benefits only for romantic partners, relatives, or household employees. He also created substantial possible benefits for the professionals responsible for managing his entities, accounts, trusts, and estate.

The January Schedule B is especially important because it extended those possible benefits beyond Richard Kahn to his immediate family. The February and August agreements then strengthened Richard Kahn’s personal position through specific multimillion dollar bequests.

The central accountability question is not whether every named beneficiary committed a crime. It is why Epstein structured his estate so that people responsible for administering his wealth, and in one version their family members, could also benefit from it.

Key Takeaways

The children were contingent beneficiaries. Max G. Kahn and Lyla B. Kahn were each assigned five percent under Schedule B of the January 2019 trust.

Lisa Kahn was also included. She received a separate five percent position in the same schedule.

The combined Kahn family Schedule B interests totaled fifteen percent. These were conditional interests, not confirmed payments.

Richard Kahn received a separate proposed bequest. The February trust directed $20 million to him, while the final 1953 Trust proposed $25 million.

Receipt remains unproven. The trust documents demonstrate intent, but estate obligations and continuing litigation affect whether beneficiaries receive anything.

Sources

PostedDecember 8, 2025

ByEpsteinWiki

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