Maybe Mr. Fuld’s wife should be running Merrill, with a eye for value like that. (Yes, I know, a minor problem of fraudulent transfer may arise.) 
For $10, Fuld Sold Florida Mansion to His Wife
Housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: A seaside mansion on Jupiter Island in Florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10.
That’s right, 10 bucks. But in this case, the transaction is likely to raise eyebrows for reasons other than the price.
The seller, according to county records, was Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers. The buyer was his wife, Kathleen.
The motivation is unclear, but Mr. Fuld has been under intense scrutiny since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September…
The couple jointly bought the home in Hobe Sound, Fla., for $13.75 million in March 2004, and the sale to Mrs. Fuld on Nov. 10 was first reported by Cityfile.com.
It is possible that he is now transferring properties because of his fears of investor lawsuits or a possible bankruptcy, lawyers in Florida said.
“This is the oldest trick in the books” said Eric S. Ruff, a lawyer with Ruff & Cohen in Gainesville, Fla. “It’s common when you hear the feet of your creditors approaching to divest yourself.”…
Florida has particularly generous home protection laws that protect residents from losing their homes in the case of lawsuits or bankruptcy. But Mr. Fuld may not see much benefit by shifting the house to his wife’s name because the Fulds may not be able to prove residency there.
Mr. Ruff, the lawyer in Florida, said that it might be difficult for him to claim residence in Florida, because he primarily lived and worked in the New York area. That could mute any bankruptcy benefit.
And, Mr. Ruff said, the transfer to his wife could be deemed fraudulent conveyance if she did not pay enough for the house. That would make the house fair game for creditors who come after Mr. Fuld.
It is also unclear how much Mrs. Fuld paid for the house. It is standard for property deeds to contain a placeholder number. The $10 on the deed in Martin County could simply be a placeholder, and Mrs. Fuld might have paid more, lawyers said.
The tax stamp on the deed says there were 70 cents of taxes, which would suggest that she may have paid as much as $100 for the house…
Full article here.
