NOTED ARTIST'S DAUGHTER IS HOMELESS

Elbert Weinberg was a sculptor and teacher. In 1951 he won the Prix de Rome, a prestigious art fellowship. He had an adorable daughter named Julia and he did a bust of her when she was three-years-old. The future looked bright for the talented sculpture and h is family. He never imagined someday she'd join the city's homeless.

Julia attended private school in Switzerland. When she returned to the United States with her father she did a semester at Skidmore college. She worked as a model, spoke several languages, including Japanese, French and Italian.

Weinberg's work brought in high prices. To protect his daughter's future, he set up a trust fund for his daughter. Despite her education and abilities she struggled with depression and was in and out of mental institutions. Unable to pursue a career, she relied on her father financially. When Weinberg learned he was dying of cancer, he worried about his daughter and made her the sole heir of his work.

Because of her mental problems, he put the inheritance in a trust fund and chose a fried and fellow artist as the trustee. S. Joel Karp of Avon lived with his family in Avon, Connecticut.

The father knew the trust would not completely support his daughter. He set it up so it could supplement what she'd receive from public support. For a number of years she lived in a small apartment in Hartford and received public assistance. Recently, she was locked out in a dispute with her landlord and now lives at the South Park Inn Shelter in Hartford.

What happened to her trust fund administered by her father's good friend? It was investigated after Julia complained to the courts. However, Hartford Probate Judge Robert Killian allowed the trustee to provide financial disclosure only going back to 1997 instead of 1991 when the trust was in effect.Karp and a co-trustee have withdrawn more than $35,626 for themselves claiming it was fees and commissions. Meanwhile, Julia, for whom the fund was intended received only $13,288 for clothes, dental work, and some college courses.

The courts did not protect Julia's assets and now she remains at the shelter hoping the state can help her find another apartment. Meanwhile the trustees have set up a site on the internet costing $11,000 to display the atwork of her father. It can be viewed at http://www.elbertweinberg.com

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