I'm not talking about paying taxes. Part of the reason she's so upset over this is because she can't live the pampered life she once had, and she feels like an "alien" (her word) in FL among the other rich people she knows. If she'd lived more modestly (especially after her husband died) and not been so class conscious, she'd not be so devastated personally. She'd have looked at the money as a blessing that had an expiration date. She could have spent all the excess doing God's work. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This woman was a fool.
However, it is her business. I agree. That's why I don't actually care about her plight.
Let’s look at the facts.
The lady claims to have lost 400K, and was getting a 5.5% return on her money before Madoff ponzied-out.
So she was getting an income of perhaps 22K a year out of it, assuming she was purely living on income, and not depleting capital in the process. If, more likely, she was taking income AND drawing down capital, she probably had 20-25 years of money there.
Sounds like fairly smart planning, but a lousy implementation. . .