The church claimed $999,000 of Brigham Young's estate, his heirs sued, and the three apostles who were his executors went to the penitentiary

As the church's trustee-in-trust, Brigham Young held church property in his own name. He died on 29 August 1877. His executors were three apostles: George Q. Cannon, his son Brigham Young Jr., and Albert Carrington. A church auditing committee worked about six months and found the estate owed the church about $999,000 on trustee business. On 10 April 1878 the executors handed John Taylor, the new trustee-in-trust, the Salt Lake Theatre at $125,000, the Gardo House at $100,000, ZCMI stock at $118,000, mills, factories, bonds and land, about $699,700, and credited $300,000 for 30 years of Young's services. The historians James Allen and Glen Leonard put the estate at about $1,626,000 and the family's remaining claim at $224,000; heirs claimed it was worth $2.5 million. Some heirs sued, alleging the executors had grossly violated their duties. When the three refused to hand church property to a court receiver or pay the bonds demanded, the district court jailed them for contempt in August 1879. They spent three and a half weeks in the penitentiary before the territorial supreme court reversed the order. Seven dissatisfied heirs settled out of court, and the church paid them $75,000 more. The historian Jeffrey Johnson counts 55 wives in Young's life, 23 surviving him and 17 sharing in the estate, and 57 children^†.