Leona Helmsley's dog loses, grandkids win
Categories: Money & work, Celeb kids, Life & style, In the news
When Leona Helmsley died last August, a lot of people were appalled to learn the details of her will. In it, the so-called Queen of Mean bequeathed a $12 million trust fund to her dog, Trouble, while leaving absolutely nothing to two of her grandchildren. Apparently this didn't sit well with those grandchildren, who claim that Helmsley was not of sound mind or memory when she signed that will back in 2005. A New York judge agrees and has taken it upon himself to alter the will. The Manhattan judge slashed Trouble's inheritance to a mere $2 million and directed the estate to pay the remainder to charity. As for the grand kids, 40-year-old Craig Panzirer and 37-year-old Meegan Panzirer Wesolko will now receive a total of $6 million of their late grandma's money.
Now, I am of the opinion that a person should be able to do whatever they wish with their money, even if it is as ridiculous as leaving it to a dog. But the judge probably made the right call in recognizing that a 9-year-old dog would be hard pressed to spend $12 million dollars before going to that big doghouse in the sky. But altering the will to include family members who were deliberately excluded for "reasons known to them" seems wrong to me. While I can certainly see how her family members would all want a slice of that billion dollar pie, I don't see how they are entitled to receive it against her wishes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jan Bay 6-17-2008 @ 9:35PM
If she didn't want the legal battle to ensue and the people that she apparently wanted to slight to come out on top, she may have been better off to have left a reasonable amount to care for her dog, small amounts to her next of kin and then leave the rest to a worthy charity.
Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/
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SCrouch111 6-17-2008 @ 10:01PM
Agreed. You should not have to leave anything to anyone you don't wish to. They should have been mentioned with some nominal amount. Also, she should have had a better attorney to draw it up.
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Theresa Pickles 6-17-2008 @ 10:41PM
I never liked that woman, but a will is a will and she was always pretty sharp. It was not like she had been declared senile or something before she died so these cowards are determined to get a piece of her wealth against her wishes and the law is disrespecting her will. It could be my will, man. Why bother making a will? If her grands were jerks like she was, they probably did not deserve it and she had her reasons. They obviously have not worked or earned it. Now they want a piece of the action to spend it.
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