Late Developer Jerry Robins’ Children Tangle Over His Estate
Miami Beach broker Stacy Robins is having a hard time trusting her sister, Gina Robins, and her brothers, developers Craig and Scott Robins, concerning their late father Gerald “Jerry” Robins’ estate.
Stacy Robins is accusing her three siblings of trying to exclude roughly $6 million from the final tally of their deceased father’s assets. She also alleges that they are attempting to deviate from the distribution plan in his will, according to records in an ongoing probate case in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
Stacy Robins claims that Jerry Robins had accounts and properties totaling $15.3 million, while Craig, Scott and Gina Robins contend that their late father’s assets total $9.4 million, records show.
Jerry Robins was a prominent Miami Beach developer who is survived by his wife Joan Robins, his four children and 11 grandchildren. He died on Oct. 2 of last year after a 23-year battle with cancer.
Craig Robins, founder and CEO of Miami-based Dacra, is the mastermind behind the Miami Design District’s metamorphosis from an interior design mecca into an art, high-end fashion and dining destination. Scott Robins heads his own eponymous real estate firm and has developed projects in Sunset Harbour, and other areas in Miami Beach. Stacy Robins also owns an eponymous real estate brokerage that focuses on luxury residential deals.
Recently, Craig, Scott and Gina Robins appear to have acquiesced to one of Stacy Robin’s demands seeking a neutral mediator outside the family to determine whose numbers are correct.
“Independent curator” to sort out estate drama
The trio filed a petition on Oct. 3 requesting that Miami-Dade Judge Bertila Soto, who is presiding over the case, appoint an “independent curator” to sort out which of Jerry Robins’ assets should be included in the distribution plan spelled out in his will.
Their lawyer, Peter Prieto, provided The Real Deal with an emailed statement by Craig, Scott and Gina Robins. “This family dispute should never have arisen,” the statement said. “From day one, the family has been fully transparent with Stacy and has given her complete access to information regarding the assets in Jerry Robins’ estate.”
A “neutral and independent party” can “quickly and efficiently” address Stacy Robin’s concerns, the statement said.
“Once that review is conducted, the family is confident that Stacy’s concerns will prove unfounded,” the statement said. “And hopefully she will once again be a part of our family.”
Stacy Robins and her lawyer, Gonzalo Dorta, did not respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.
In June, Stacy Robins filed a petition objecting to her siblings being named as co-personal representatives of Jerry Robins’s estate, and also sought the appointment of an “independent curator.”
Craig, Scott and Gina Robins “have failed to provide a full and accurate list of [Jerry’s] assets in an attempt to to keep said assets out of the estate,” the petition states. “[Stacy’s siblings] do not intend to follow [Jerry’s] intended distribution scheme as memorialized in his will, and instead plan to make adjustments.”
Jerry Robins’ will, which is part of the probate case file, divides his estate among his wife, children and grandchildren. Based on an accounting of his assets by lawyers representing Craig, Scott and Gina Robins, about $3.1 million would be distributed to the grandkids and a family member named Jerold Bleiweiss. Joan Robins would also receive $3.1 million. From the $3.1 million left over, Craig and Scott Robins would each get 15 percent, or $465,000 each, and Stacy and Gina Robins would each get 35 percent, or about $1.1 million each, court documents show.
However, Stacy Robins alleges that her brothers and sister are omitting amounts totaling about $6 million in three bank accounts. In court documents, Craig, Scott and Gina Robins assert those bank accounts are also owned by their mother, Joan Robins, and are not subject to the probate proceedings.
Siblings accuse Stacy of getting greedy
In a court pleading, Stacy alleges that her father, prior to his death, moved assets out of his sole ownership into dual ownership with his wife. She claims her father didn’t have the mental capacity to make such decisions, and that he was under “undue influence.” Stacy Robins also accused Jerry Robins’ estate planning legal counsel of “depriving her of her rightful inheritance” by “improperly removing cash and assets” from the estate, the pleading states.
In response to the pleading, Craig, Scott and Gina Robins allege that Stacy Robins’ “conduct in the weeks before and after her father’s death have only deepened the family wound.” They accused her of being greedy by lodging “inaccurate accusations” against her siblings “fueled by a desire for more money than she’s entitled to under her late father’s will.”
The trio plan to present evidence that Jerry Robins was “lucid and present” before he died, calling “numerous people and [he] had meaningful conversations with loved ones, thanking them for the role they had played in his life,” the pleading states.
Before and after Jerry Robins’ death, Stacy Robins received a full accounting of her father’s assets, and she was afforded the same access to information from accountants and bookkeepers that her brothers and sister got, the pleading states.
“When [Stacy] continued to claim a lack of trust, [her siblings] offered on multiple occasions to bear the costs of an independent forensic accounting of Jerry Robins’ assets,” the pleading states. “None of this satisfied [Stacy], who has consistently demanded more money.”
Craig, Scott and Gina Robins also agreed to her demands of an “independent curator” from “outside of Miami-Dade County,” but Stacy rejected nominees, including one candidate that she initially proposed, the pleading states.
