WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State nominee John Kerry plans to divest holdings in dozens of companies in his family’s vast financial portfolio to avoid possible conflicts of interest if he is confirmed by the Senate, according to a letter he released Wednesday.

The Massachusetts Democrat notified the State Department earlier this month that within 90 days of his confirmation he would move to sell off holdings in three trusts benefiting him and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. In the Jan. 8 letter to the department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, Kerry said he would not take part in any decisions that could affect those holdings until the investments are sold off. If he did have to take action before the assets were sold, Kerry said he would seek a waiver from the Office of Government Ethics.