CA CA - Lydia "Dia" Abrams, 65, Idyllwild, 6 Jun 2020

[Jo in Calif]

dbm

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

DBM - double post

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

For those who are interested:
Clem's Candlelight Project
So much work appears to have gone into this over the years. I don't know when it will break ground.
I wonder what would happen if the family did have to give Dia $6.7 million from the total estate?
If it would effect this project much?
Maybe not if the monetary investment has already been made and they are just waiting (?).
(Otay Mesa) Candlelight Project No. 40329 | California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) | City of San Diego Official Website

The first link is a nice 'little' environmental impact report on the project.
Clem is listed on page 4 as "Clem Abrams -Applicant".
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/40329_-_final_eir_candlelight_4-18-2018_.pdf

The project really is major:
https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Port..._Candlelight_PN.pdf?ver=2019-01-10-133223-077

 

[Curious Me]

..... Does this mean there is a missing gun?

When he returned from his work around 7:30 that evening, Harper said Abrams was gone. She had left her cell phone, purse and Ford truck behind.

Harper said he assumed Abrams went for a hike. And, if she did go out walking, Harper said she would have been carrying a 22-caliber pistol.

“We had an incident out here where she killed five rattlers. So yeah, you carry a pistol when you hike out here,” he said.​

Great question! Now that we know Dia took a gun with her on hikes and that she was quite the sharpshooter killing five rattlers... is there a gun missing. Too bad Keith didn't mention one way or the other if any guns were missing.

It's been said she was in fear of someone for the last four years, so she probably was usually hyper vigilant in all ways. If she didn't take a gun with her, nor her beloved dog she took everyplace even to the mailbox, then maybe someone came to the house unexpected, or tricked her somehow, and caught her off guard by taking her completely by surprise. This started out as a missing person case, but it seems to be morphing into a criminal case, IMO.

All just MOO.

 

[Curious Me]

https://cbs8.com/embeds/video/509-2d555af7-ee0c-43b2-b294-8c5aab87549d/iframe?jwsource=cl

Adult daughter refers to her as Dia, not Mom or Mother.
Things aren't to good with them.

You caught that too.
Adult daughter texted a reply back to News8's David Gotfredson (Investigative Producer) and in the daughter's text statement it reads:

"We can continue to keep Dia in our hearts while we hope for her return."

(this is from the Aug. 25th video at the 3:35 mark)
Woman missing near Idyllwild was in court battle over multi-million dollar estate | cbs8.com

 

[Curious Me]

Clem Abrams died in December 2018. Dia was married to him for 35 yrs. Clem, with good intentions perhaps to carry on his legacy, put the children in charge of the trust estate and this inevitably caused fiction between mother and children, IMO. This battle began soon after in 2019. The Court filing explains what Dia was requesting. Then, the children with a controlling opposition to their mother's probate petition get to say no, nope, nada. It seems it was going to be a continuing battle. Recently, those transfers Dia made, I can't explain what they mean, but perhaps it set off further contention. There seemed to be a great division within the family, the battle with a heavy emphasis on money and property. All MOO, but it's a sad view of having wealth.

8/19/2020 News article & video
Former La Jolla woman transferred property before disappearing near Idyllwild | cbs8.com

8/25/2020 News article & Video
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/woman-missing-idyllwild-court-battle-multi-million-estate-dia-abrams-reward/509-fbfbebbd-4367-4ad8-a342-89f9bfcf39f8

"Court filings show Abrams was seeking to invalidate her prenuptial agreement she signed with her husband in 1984. She also was seeking more than $6.7 million dollars in assets from the estate to fund a marital trust."

"Through their attorneys, Clinton and Crisara Abrams filed an opposition to their mother’s probate petition. The attorneys declined to comment for this report."

BBM - Bolded by Me
MOO - My Own Opinion

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Carrying this over from the other thread...
Does this mean there is a missing gun?

When he returned from his work around 7:30 that evening, Harper said Abrams was gone. She had left her cell phone, purse and Ford truck behind.

Harper said he assumed Abrams went for a hike. And, if she did go out walking, Harper said she would have been carrying a 22-caliber pistol.

“We had an incident out here where she killed five rattlers. So yeah, you carry a pistol when you hike out here,” he said.​

Great question! Now that we know Dia took a gun with her on hikes and that she was quite the sharpshooter killing five rattlers... is there a gun missing. Too bad Keith didn't mention one way or the other if any guns were missing..

OK, maybe I was wrong when I previously responded to Jash. Maybe there is a missing gun. There isn't a statement that says Dia's gun was missing, but it now sounds to me like it's implied.

I wonder if someone can get in touch with David Gotfredson to fill in the blank for us.

 

[Curious Me]

I wonder if someone can get in touch with David Gotfredson to fill in the blank for us.

There's a link on David Gotfredson's page at News8 where you can email him. I've become a fan of his excellent investigative reporting on this case.
David Gotfredson at CBS8

Let me point out that it's not the members of the wealthy family offering a reward, but only Dia's fiancé.
Woman missing near Idyllwild was in court battle over multi-million dollar estate | cbs8.com

Harper said he is offering a $10,000 for the safe return of Abrams.

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

There's a link on David Gotfredson's page at News8 where you can email him. I've become a fan of his excellent investigative reporting on this case.
David Gotfredson at CBS8

Thanks for the info!

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

I sent David Gotfredson an email that said:

Hi David,
Thank you for your excellent reporting on the Dia Abrams case!
Regarding this report, do you know if Dia’s 22-caliber pistol is missing? Harper doesn’t say it’s missing, but it sounds like it is implied.
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/woman-missing-idyllwild-court-battle-multi-million-estate-dia-abrams-reward/509-fbfbebbd-4367-4ad8-a342-89f9bfcf39f8
Thanks so much!,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He replied:

Gotfredson, David <dgotfredson@kfmb.com>
Thu 8/27/2020 7:33 PM
He speculated, IF Dia went for a hike, she would always carry a 22 caliber gun. I am sorry, he did not mention whether he searched for this gun, or if it was missing. The interview ended rather abruptly.

Cheers,

DAVID GOTFREDSON

Investigative Producer

| 7677 Engineer Rd, San Diego, CA 92111

Email: dgotfredson@kfmb.com | Web: cbs8.com

Office: 858-495-7555 | Fax: 858.560.0627

 

[Niner]

"Court filings show Abrams was seeking to invalidate her prenuptial agreement she signed with her husband in 1984. She also was seeking more than $6.7 million dollars in assets from the estate to fund a marital trust."

I'm wondering "what" is in her prenuptial agreement she wants to have invalidated?

 

[Curious Me]

I'm wondering "what" is in her prenuptial agreement she wants to have invalidated?

There were two issues addressed in Dia's Court filing, as I understand it.

(1) She requested the Invalidation of the Prenup. Ultimately Dia requested that the Court void the terms of the Prenup that eliminated the accrual of community property during the marriage of Clem and Dia. In essence it cut her out of owning half of the community property. The list of properties was extensive and that Prenup was signed 35 yrs. ago under duress.

(2) She was also requesting an additional five to six million dollars that she felt was owed from the Family Trust to the Martial Trust due to an unexpected change coming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law December 2017."
(Please correct me if I'm wrong. In my limited understanding and in simple terms, this meant there was less estate tax owed, and so Dia wanted that taken into consideration and the money $6.7 million put into her Martial Trust.)

BBM and All MOO.

I wonder what would happen if the family did have to give Dia $6.7 million from the total estate?

Did I explain it half way correct?

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Did I explain it half way correct?

Yes, good job Curious Me !! (at least as far as I understand it.......I'm NOT fluent in legalese..)

For the TRUST I found these sections to be helpful in my understanding (BBM):

"Article 10 of the Abrams Trust explains that the Family Trust shall be funded by the maximum amount possible that will produce the lowest possible federal and state death taxes. In other words, the Family Trust must be funded before the Marital Trust, by a value that is based on the applicable estate tax exemption limits at the time of Clem’s death. The Marital Trusts are only funded with the residue remaining after the Family Trust is funded. When the Abrams Restatement was executed in 2015, the estate tax limit was $5.43 Million, with the expectation that it would increase slightly year after year. Circumstances changed drastically after President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in December 2017. The TCJA increased the 2018 estate tax limit, applicable here, to $11,180,000."

"If Clem had died one year earlier, the Family Trust would likely have been funded with approximately $5,490,000 while the Marital Trust would have been funded with the remaining qualifying assets which are believed to exceed $5 Million.

So in plain language, the vast 'chunk' of Clem's estate (more than$11 million) ended up funding the Family Trust. And much less went into the marital trusts. There is additional discussion in the trust that brings Dia's request up to over $6 million.

** This next part is confusing (page 5), and I don't think we necessarily need to try to understand it. But it sounds to me like maybe if Dia does get her 'chunk' of money, it's the income that it generates that she will have access to (but not necessarily the 'chunk'):
19. Article 3 of the Abrams Trust provides that after three specific distributions of $100,000, that the residue shall be allocated among the Family Trust, the Contingent Marital Trust and the Marital Trust as provided in the Marital Formula Article.
20. Dia is not entitled to any outright distributions, but she is entitled to the income of the Exempt and Nonexempt Marital Trusts for her lifetime, and so much of the principal as is necessary to provide for her medical care if there are otherwise insufficient assets.
21. Upon information and belief, Clem’s assets generate substantial monthly revenue, but the exact amount is unknown. Further, Paragraph 10.03, subdivision (b) requires that the assets in the Marital Trusts be productive and permits Dia to request that the Trustee convert any unproductive property into productive property for her benefit.

 

[jash]

I sent David Gotfredson an email that said:

Hi David,
Thank you for your excellent reporting on the Dia Abrams case!
Regarding this report, do you know if Dia’s 22-caliber pistol is missing? Harper doesn’t say it’s missing, but it sounds like it is implied.
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/woman-missing-idyllwild-court-battle-multi-million-estate-dia-abrams-reward/509-fbfbebbd-4367-4ad8-a342-89f9bfcf39f8
Thanks so much!,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He replied:

Gotfredson, David <dgotfredson@kfmb.com>
Thu 8/27/2020 7:33 PM
He speculated, IF Dia went for a hike, she would always carry a 22 caliber gun. I am sorry, he did not mention whether he searched for this gun, or if it was missing. The interview ended rather abruptly.

Cheers,

DAVID GOTFREDSON

Investigative Producer

| 7677 Engineer Rd, San Diego, CA 92111

Email: dgotfredson@kfmb.com | Web: cbs8.com

Office: 858-495-7555 | Fax: 858.560.0627

Wow, thanks for doing that! I'm not a gun owner so I could be way off base but I would expect Dia had a usual place to keep her handgun when she wasn't carrying it (hopefully securely stored). Interesting that the interview ended abruptly.

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Woman missing near Idyllwild was in court battle over multi-million dollar estate | cbs8.com
This is from the article (NOT in the video) BBM :
"News 8 asked Abrams’ fiancé if he knew why Abrams had changed ownership of her ranch properties into a trust, and who the beneficiaries of the trust might be.

“We don't know. Her attorney would have the information,” Harper said. “I didn't get into her financial affairs.”

“She was changing them because she felt there was a threat to her life,” he added, without elaborating. "

 

[Cat4]

Are the two adult children theirs or are they from a previous marriage of Clem’s?

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Are the two adult children theirs or are they from a previous marriage of Clem’s?

The children are from their marriage.

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Clem Abram's Candlelight Project in Otay Mesa (BBM) :
Page 130: Ownership
Pages 28-29: The Permit is granted Jul7 26, 2018 and expires August 9, 2021
Page 48:
1. This Tentative Map will expire August 9, 2021.
2. Compliance with all following conditions shall be completed and/or assured, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer, prior to the recordation of the Final Map, unless otherwise noted.
3. Prior to the recordation of the Final Map, taxes must be paid on this property pursuant to Subdivision Map Act section 66492. To satisfy this condition, a tax certificate stating that there are no unpaid lien conditions against the subdivision must be recorded in the Office of the San Diego County Recorder.
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/pc-18-036_candlelight.pdf

There is ~$800,000 in defaulted property taxes on the 3 parcels that appear to make up the project using '8015 La Jolla Scenic' and '92037':
County of San Diego Treasurer - Tax Collector

There you go CuriousMe, the above is a possible link between property taxes and Dia's disappearance (FINALLY, she says...).

SPECULATION: If the family can't afford to pay the taxes right now and the project is delayed, project stakeholders might get angry over potential income loss.

 

[lex8396]

Clem Abram's Candlelight Project in Otay Mesa (BBM) :
Page 130: Ownership
Pages 28-29: The Permit is granted Jul7 26, 2018 and expires August 9, 2021
There is ~$800,000 in defaulted property taxes on the 3 parcels that appear to make up the project using '8015 La Jolla Scenic' and '92037':
County of San Diego Treasurer - Tax Collector

There you go CuriousMe, the above is a possible link between property taxes and Dia's disappearance (FINALLY, she says...).

SPECULATION: If the family can't afford to pay the taxes right now and the project is delayed, project stakeholders might get angry over potential income loss.[/QUOTE

*** It is only little over 1 mile from Mexico border..... someone/ organization DOES/ DOESN'T want the project completed..... there are some allegations of possible environmental impact, traffic impact, wildlife habitat issues, etc if project is completed....
Corporations, Extreme environmentalists, crime syndicates....

It seems like there is a lot more to this missing persons case.....
I am starting to understand what her boyfriend said about her fearing for her life.....my opinion only.

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

*** It is only little over 1 mile from Mexico border..... someone/ organization DOES/ DOESN'T want the project completed..... there are some allegations of possible environmental impact, traffic impact, wildlife habitat issues, etc if project is completed....
Corporations, Extreme environmentalists, crime syndicates....

It seems like there is a lot more to this missing persons case.....
I am starting to understand what her boyfriend said about her fearing for her life.....my opinion only.

The permit was issued. Concerns about environmental and traffic impact, etc, had already been sufficiently addressed so that the permit could be issued.
Corporations, environmentalists, and crime syndicates would not go after Dia who had no actual involvement in the project.