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Case file s1744 · Music and sport · 2017
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2017
Chester Bennington: ARGO-Konzerte,Centerstage,Chester Bennington,Konzert,Linkin Park,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2014
Chester Bennington. Stefan Brending (2eight). CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
20 July 2017
Place
Palos Verdes Estates, California · United States
Field
nu metal and alternative rock (Linkin Park) · Music on the timeline
Legal tradition
US common law (California) · Common law
Historical event
Linkin Park's 2024 return with a new singer
Music and sportNowNorth AmericaUnited States

Chester Bennington left everything to his widow and six children, and his first wife's claim took half of his Linkin Park royalties

Chester Bennington died by suicide at 41, two months after the death of his friend Chris Cornell. Will documents filed in October 2017 showed he left his retirement account to his widow, Talinda, and the rest to his six children through the Chester and Talinda Bennington Family Trust, created in 2007 and amended in 2009. Talinda was executor. In 2017 his first wife, Samantha Olit, married to him from 1996 to 2005 and mother of his son Draven, filed a claim against the estate for child support she said he owed and for a share of his merchandising and music royalties. In December 2018 Talinda asked the probate court for 12 more months to file an inventory, saying she was still negotiating with Olit. Olit withdrew the child support claim in June 2019. In December 2019 Talinda told the probate court she would allow the royalty claim: 50 percent of the estate's Linkin Park royalties, covering non-touring merchandise, publishing and a share of the master recordings. In September 2024 Linkin Park named Emily Armstrong as its singer. His son Jaime Bennington publicly said the band had erased his father's legacy, and Mike Shinoda said on stage that the aim was not to erase the past. In 2026 the estate's royalties are split under the 2019 agreement.

What the law took from it

A trust written for a second family does not stop a former spouse's claim on royalties earned during the first marriage.

Sources
  1. loudwire.comPress
  2. tmz.comPress
  3. tmz.comPress
  4. blabbermouth.netPress
  5. Rolling StonePress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Chester Bennington left everything to his widow and six children, and his first wife's claim took half of his Linkin Park royalties,” story s1744, https://www.celebrity.estate/chester-bennington-2017, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

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