Who will inherit Whitney Houston's millions?
Maria Puente, USA TODAYPublished 11:28 a.m. ET July 27, 2015 | Updated 9:28 p.m. ET July 29, 2015
Oprah Winfrey and Missy Elliot pay tribute to Bobbi Kristina Brown; Police in Sweden question and test Snoop Dogg for suspected drug use after concert; 'Ant-Man' inches past 'Pixels' to take first place at American box office. (July 27) AP
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Correction: In an earlier version, this story misidentified the hotel where Whitney Houston was found dead. It was the Beverly Hilton.
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Now that Bobbi Kristina Brown is gone, six months after she mysteriously fell into unconsciousness, what happens to the estate she was to inherit from her late mother, Whitney Houston?
Who will control the estimated millions Houston left in a trust for Bobbi Kristina in her will?
Will it be her grieving father, Bobby Brown? He maintained a vigil at her bedside as she lay in a medically induced coma for months in Atlanta hospitals and a hospice.
Or will it be her maternal family, led by grandmother Cissy Houston and her aunt Pat Houston, who also were at her side? They have controlled the bulk of Bobbi Kristina's money under the terms of Whitney Houston's will.
Bobbi Kristina Brown has died
One thing is likely: Many lawyers will be involved.
"It's going to be a windfall for the lawyers, unfortunately," says Jerry Reisman, a trusts and estate-law expert and partner at the Long Island firm of Reisman, Peirez, Reisman and Capobianco.
Just three years after her mother was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton, Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive and face down in a bathtub in her Roswell, Ga., home, on Jan. 31. She died Sunday at age 22 at a hospice outside Atlanta.
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Photos: Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston
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Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of singer Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was found by husband Nick Gordon unresponsive in a bathtub. The scenario was all too similar to the manner in which Houston died on the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards. Jason LaVeris, FilmMagic
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statement issued Monday.
The Brown and Houston families, who have not seen eye to eye on Bobbi Kristina for years, may be headed for a long and expensive litigation unless the two families can come to some agreement outside court. They have already demonstrated they can.
In April, Bobby Brown and Pat Houston were appointed guardians over Bobbi Kristina by a Georgia family court, and a conservator was appointed to look after her assets. Family court hearings in Georgia are closed to the public so no one in the families has spoken publicly about the proceedings.
Reports: Bobby Brown seeks guardianship of daughter
David Long, attorney for Houston, released a statement for her saying at the time the guardianship case was a "family matter" and would not be discussed publicly.
"We hope to resolve this in a manner that is respectful of Bobbi Kristina's sensitive health information," the statement said. "The Houston family has always looked out for the best interest of Bobbi Kristina Brown. ... We trust that others have the same objective."
But the questions about what happens now to her estate suggest a murky legal situation, Reisman says.
"Everyone is going to try to grab (her money), but it's not necessarily up for grabs," Reisman says. "And it's a lot of money. Don't forget the royalties coming in (from Houston's music). That estate is never going to end." Neither could the potential litigation arising from this case of mother-daughter tragedy, he says.
Bobbi K's condition may speed up probe
Inheritance laws differ from state to state, he says, but the terms of Whitney's will are likely to trump all state laws unless the terms are disputed in court.
If so, "the court would have to determine what (Houston) meant to do," he says. "But generally the will governs."
And under its terms, Bobbi Kristina was not to get full access to all the money until she turned 30.
When Houston died in 2012, her estimated $20 million estate was left to Bobbi Kristina, who was her only child. Houston first drafted her will in 1993, and she amended it in April 2000, but even after that Bobbi Kristina inherited everything — all of Houston's money, furniture, clothing, cars, including the townhouse in Roswell where she had been living.
The estate was placed in a trust until Bobbi Kristina turned 21, on March 4, 2014. At that time, she received 10% of the estate, or about $2 million. The will dictated that she was to get another sixth of the estate when she turned 25, and the rest at age 30.
So now what?
will, it goes to Cissy Houston, and Whitney's two brothers. Cissy was named executor of the will but renounced the appointment, and a Georgia probate judge later named Whitney's sister-in-law and manager, Marion (Pat) Houston, as the sole administrator of the estate.
What about her father?
Originally, Bobby Brown was listed as a beneficiary in the will, too, but he and Whitney divorced in 2007.
Reisman says that means that generally Bobby Brown would not be entitled to any part of his ex-wife's estate now that Bobbi Kristina has died.
But, says Atlanta estate lawyer Bruce Gaynes, he would be entitled to whatever Bobbi Kristina has received so far from her mother's will.
"For the purposes of Bobbi Kristina's estate, he is the sole beneficiary, if she has no husband and if she has no will," says Gaynes, of the Kitchens Kelley Gaynes firm.
Bobby Brown could seek to gain control of some or all of the Whitney millions in trust for his daughter, but "he would have to argue that in court and it would mean a lot of litigation," Reisman adds.
Lawsuit start of big trouble for Nick Gordon?
Could Gordon have a claim as a "common-law" husband?
Some states allow common-law marriages; Georgia, where they had been living, no longer does.
"He's going to have a very difficult time proving they were married," Reisman says. "And even if he could make the case, he has no rights (to an estate) under a common-law marriage."
Gaynes says that if there is a dispute over the estate and Gordon's relationship to Bobbi Kristina, it won't follow the typical reason for such disputes.
"More often than not the most typical reason for disputes seems to be a second marriage (widow or widower) with the children from the first marriage," he says. "A dispute about whether there was a marriage — that would be unusual. Fighting over money? Not unusual."
Could Gordon still benefit?
Bobbi Kristina's relatives could pay him with a percentage of her estate to go away, Reisman says, to avoid years of litigation.
"If he gets lawyers, they would go 'forum shopping' as we call it, looking for the state with the best possible forum most favorable to them," Reisman says. "If he does bring litigation, he would lose but it would probably be wise for the family to settle with him."
On the other hand, if Gordon is charged and convicted of having some involvement in the events that led to Bobbi Kristina's death, a settlement is unlikely.
If he were to be convicted, the state "slayer statute," which most states have, would prevent him from inheriting from Bobbi Kristina's estate, Gaynes said.
Maria Puente, USA TODAYPublished 11:28 a.m. ET July 27, 2015 | Updated 9:28 p.m. ET July 29, 2015
Oprah Winfrey and Missy Elliot pay tribute to Bobbi Kristina Brown; Police in Sweden question and test Snoop Dogg for suspected drug use after concert; 'Ant-Man' inches past 'Pixels' to take first place at American box office. (July 27) AP
TWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE
Correction: In an earlier version, this story misidentified the hotel where Whitney Houston was found dead. It was the Beverly Hilton.
—
Now that Bobbi Kristina Brown is gone, six months after she mysteriously fell into unconsciousness, what happens to the estate she was to inherit from her late mother, Whitney Houston?
Who will control the estimated millions Houston left in a trust for Bobbi Kristina in her will?
Will it be her grieving father, Bobby Brown? He maintained a vigil at her bedside as she lay in a medically induced coma for months in Atlanta hospitals and a hospice.
Or will it be her maternal family, led by grandmother Cissy Houston and her aunt Pat Houston, who also were at her side? They have controlled the bulk of Bobbi Kristina's money under the terms of Whitney Houston's will.
Bobbi Kristina Brown has died
One thing is likely: Many lawyers will be involved.
"It's going to be a windfall for the lawyers, unfortunately," says Jerry Reisman, a trusts and estate-law expert and partner at the Long Island firm of Reisman, Peirez, Reisman and Capobianco.
Just three years after her mother was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton, Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive and face down in a bathtub in her Roswell, Ga., home, on Jan. 31. She died Sunday at age 22 at a hospice outside Atlanta.
FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedIn
Photos: Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston
Fullscreen
Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of singer Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was found by husband Nick Gordon unresponsive in a bathtub. The scenario was all too similar to the manner in which Houston died on the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards. Jason LaVeris, FilmMagic
Fullscreen
1 of 9
statement issued Monday.
The Brown and Houston families, who have not seen eye to eye on Bobbi Kristina for years, may be headed for a long and expensive litigation unless the two families can come to some agreement outside court. They have already demonstrated they can.
In April, Bobby Brown and Pat Houston were appointed guardians over Bobbi Kristina by a Georgia family court, and a conservator was appointed to look after her assets. Family court hearings in Georgia are closed to the public so no one in the families has spoken publicly about the proceedings.
Reports: Bobby Brown seeks guardianship of daughter
David Long, attorney for Houston, released a statement for her saying at the time the guardianship case was a "family matter" and would not be discussed publicly.
"We hope to resolve this in a manner that is respectful of Bobbi Kristina's sensitive health information," the statement said. "The Houston family has always looked out for the best interest of Bobbi Kristina Brown. ... We trust that others have the same objective."
But the questions about what happens now to her estate suggest a murky legal situation, Reisman says.
"Everyone is going to try to grab (her money), but it's not necessarily up for grabs," Reisman says. "And it's a lot of money. Don't forget the royalties coming in (from Houston's music). That estate is never going to end." Neither could the potential litigation arising from this case of mother-daughter tragedy, he says.
Bobbi K's condition may speed up probe
Inheritance laws differ from state to state, he says, but the terms of Whitney's will are likely to trump all state laws unless the terms are disputed in court.
If so, "the court would have to determine what (Houston) meant to do," he says. "But generally the will governs."
And under its terms, Bobbi Kristina was not to get full access to all the money until she turned 30.
When Houston died in 2012, her estimated $20 million estate was left to Bobbi Kristina, who was her only child. Houston first drafted her will in 1993, and she amended it in April 2000, but even after that Bobbi Kristina inherited everything — all of Houston's money, furniture, clothing, cars, including the townhouse in Roswell where she had been living.
The estate was placed in a trust until Bobbi Kristina turned 21, on March 4, 2014. At that time, she received 10% of the estate, or about $2 million. The will dictated that she was to get another sixth of the estate when she turned 25, and the rest at age 30.
So now what?
will, it goes to Cissy Houston, and Whitney's two brothers. Cissy was named executor of the will but renounced the appointment, and a Georgia probate judge later named Whitney's sister-in-law and manager, Marion (Pat) Houston, as the sole administrator of the estate.
What about her father?
Originally, Bobby Brown was listed as a beneficiary in the will, too, but he and Whitney divorced in 2007.
Reisman says that means that generally Bobby Brown would not be entitled to any part of his ex-wife's estate now that Bobbi Kristina has died.
But, says Atlanta estate lawyer Bruce Gaynes, he would be entitled to whatever Bobbi Kristina has received so far from her mother's will.
"For the purposes of Bobbi Kristina's estate, he is the sole beneficiary, if she has no husband and if she has no will," says Gaynes, of the Kitchens Kelley Gaynes firm.
Bobby Brown could seek to gain control of some or all of the Whitney millions in trust for his daughter, but "he would have to argue that in court and it would mean a lot of litigation," Reisman adds.
Lawsuit start of big trouble for Nick Gordon?
Could Gordon have a claim as a "common-law" husband?
Some states allow common-law marriages; Georgia, where they had been living, no longer does.
"He's going to have a very difficult time proving they were married," Reisman says. "And even if he could make the case, he has no rights (to an estate) under a common-law marriage."
Gaynes says that if there is a dispute over the estate and Gordon's relationship to Bobbi Kristina, it won't follow the typical reason for such disputes.
"More often than not the most typical reason for disputes seems to be a second marriage (widow or widower) with the children from the first marriage," he says. "A dispute about whether there was a marriage — that would be unusual. Fighting over money? Not unusual."
Could Gordon still benefit?
Bobbi Kristina's relatives could pay him with a percentage of her estate to go away, Reisman says, to avoid years of litigation.
"If he gets lawyers, they would go 'forum shopping' as we call it, looking for the state with the best possible forum most favorable to them," Reisman says. "If he does bring litigation, he would lose but it would probably be wise for the family to settle with him."
On the other hand, if Gordon is charged and convicted of having some involvement in the events that led to Bobbi Kristina's death, a settlement is unlikely.
If he were to be convicted, the state "slayer statute," which most states have, would prevent him from inheriting from Bobbi Kristina's estate, Gaynes said.
