Infamous Will Disputes By Harry L. Munsinger, J.D., Ph.D.
E
ven though famous people generally leave substantial estates when they die, family members often feel slighted by the will or trust and decide to fight for a larger share of the family assets. Even children who receive generous trust funds prior to their parents’ deaths sometimes feel cheated by their parents’ wills and sue the family for additional funds. Will disputes support the old adage: “There is never enough money to make people happy.” And fights over an inheritance often bring out the worst in people. Estate of J. Seward Johnson.1 J. Seward Johnson, Sr. was a son of one of the founders of Johnson & Johnson. The battle over his estate was finally settled in 1986, after years of expensive litigation. The single issue was whether Johnson was mentally competent when he signed a will on April 14, 1983. In that will, Johnson left the bulk of his considerable estate to his much younger second wife Barbara Johnson, his former maid. Under the terms of the will, Barbara Johnson would receive approximately $8 million as executor of the Johnson estate, plus an annual fee of $900,000 for life. Johnson’s children alleged that he was disoriented and not competent to draft his last will and testament when he signed it in 1983. At trial, the children’s attorneys presented thirty-seven witnesses, including nurses and employees, who testified that the elderly Johnson did not understand what he was doing when he signed his last will. In rebuttal, attorneys for Mrs. Johnson presented thirty-eight witnesses, who claimed he was alert and mentally competent until he died at age 87 from prostate cancer. Before the judge announced his verdict, he sent the parties out to try to settle their dispute. In the settlement they negotiated, Mrs. Johnson received over $300 million of the considerable estate derived from the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Mr. Johnson’s six children received $42 million to divide among themselves. An oceanographic institute founded by Mr. Johnson was awarded $20 million, and Mrs. Johnson agreed to pay $10 million in attorney’s fees to the children. Johnson’s son, J. Seward Johnson, Jr., was awarded approximately $7 million in lieu of an executor’s fee. The IRS received approximately $80 million in
estate taxes. The Johnson children were already wealthy, having received around $450 million in trusts and other gifts over the years, but they still sued Barbara Johnson, claiming she had taken advantage of her husband’s incompetence. Estate of H. L. Hunt.2 H. L. Hunt’s son and grandson settled their longrunning dispute over the eldest Hunt’s estate—with both sides claiming victory, although the terms of the settlement are confidential. The dispute began shortly after Margaret Hunt Hill, the mother of Al Hunt, Jr., died in 2007. Al Hunt, Jr. had gifted his share of Margaret’s trust to his three children, but when Al Hunt, III asked for an accounting of the trust, his father got so angry that he disinherited his son. Al Hunt, III sued his father, sisters, aunts, and a cousin, accusing them of stealing money from the estate and conspiring to evade taxes. After numerous lawsuits, a federal judge finally ordered both sides to try to settle their dispute, which they did. After settlement, all litigation was dismissed. Although both sides claimed victory, the attorneys involved said the settlement was fair and neither side won—which usually means they split the difference in their demands. Estate of Brooke Astor.3 Brooke Astor was a socialite and philanthropist, whose third husband was a descendent of America’s first millionaire, John Jacob Astor. A long-running feud over Brooke Astor’s estate ended in 2012 with a settlement. The agreement created the Brooke Astor Fund for New York City Education and gave the fund $30 million. Additional millions were earmarked to maintain Central Park, city playgrounds, Prospect Park, and several cultural institutions in New York City. The most significant item in the settlement was the smaller inheritance of Ms. Astor’s son, Anthony D. Marshall. His portion of the estate was decreased from from $31 million to $14.5 million because he had been convicted of stealing money from his mother, for which Mr. Marshall and the attorney who planned Ms. Astor’s estate were sentenced to three years in prison. They both remain free on bail pending appeal of the criminal convictions. The settlement is binding and will not change, no matter what happens in the criminal appeal. May–June 2021
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