A luxury home on a private island in Flathead Lake has a new owner, according to Flathead County property records.

Ownership of Shelter Island near Rollins was transferred to Second Step Asset Management Company on April 14, according to documents filed with the Flathead County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

The company is incorporated in Maryland with a physical office in Los Angeles. The company’s registered agent is Howard Epstein, a national executive of the Bank of America Corporation.

Calls to the corporate office for comment were not returned.

The deed transfer indicates the sale may be a short sale for $23.5 million, plus the cost of tax assessments in 2015. A short sale is a sale in which the total amount paid is less than the amount of debt owed against the property.

The luxury mansion was constructed by California real estate tycoon Donald Abbey in the early 2000s and features a five-bedroom, eight-bath main house covering more than 24,000 square feet, with 45-foot-tall ceilings. A shooting range, gym and heated boat stall are part of the lavish estate that was once listed for a purchase price of $78 million.

The state tax board ruled that the property was worth $41.8 million in 2015, after a tax battle in which Abbey claimed the island’s taxable worth was far less at $9.8 million. The 2014 tax bill for the property was $367,696.

The property is currently listed on the website Pinnaclelist.com for $44.5 million.

Litigation regarding the estate’s construction has been ongoing since 2009, with a decision expected in Flathead District Court this year about whether or not companies owned by Abbey colluded to collect a $12 million judgment from an insurance company in regards to construction costs.

Property records indicate that Abbey’s company still owns some lots along Flathead Lake. Abbey also owns of a condominium in Whitefish that is worth more than $1 million, according to property records.

In 2007 Abbey gave a $300,000 donation to the Kalispell Police department for the purchase the BEAR, a Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Vehicle. The bullet-proof SWAT vehicle is usually only found in police departments that have more than 1,000 officers.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.