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Era

Now 2000 to 2026

Wills, successions and estate fights from 2000 to 2026, newest first.

463 stories3D timeline

How were estates passed on, 2000 to 2026?

A trust can keep a will private, but the people hired to guard the estate can still become its first litigants. A will that pours everything into a private trust keeps the shares out of the public file, but the executors' fees and payments still need court approval and any beneficiary can object to them.

Stories
463
Main regions
North America, Europe, East Asia
Main subjects
Music and sport, Hollywood and TV, Divorce and feuds
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every story, 2000 to 2026

  1. 2026Raymond's founder gave his son his 37 percent stake and says he was then pushed out of the family towergulfnews.com and 2 more
  2. 2026Valentino left his estate to a foundation in Liechtenstein that the public had never heard ofmilanofinanza.it and 2 more
  3. 2026CIA officer Aldrich Ames paid cash for a $540,000 house on a salary under $70,000; he and his wife forfeited the proceeds, and she went to prison while their son lived in Bogotáirp.fas.org and 3 more
  4. 2026Dolly Parton's estate company sued her nephew and former security chief one month after her death, alleging threats to ruin her brandwbur.org and 5 more
  5. 2025Lord Brocket was jailed for five years for insurance fraud in 1996, and his trustees leased out Brocket Hallbrocket-hall.co.uk and 5 more
  6. 2025The Hudson's Bay Company sold Rupert's Land for £300,000 in 1869, went insolvent in 2025, and sold its 1670 charter for $18 millionmanitobamuseum.ca and 7 more
  7. 2025Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead a week apart, and his children are fighting wills that leave them nothingRolling Stone and 3 more
  8. 2025Sunjay Kapur died at a polo match, and his children say the will leaving his Rs 30,000 crore estate to his widow is forgedwionews.com and 4 more
  9. 2025Michael Schumacher's family has kept his condition secret since 2013, and a former guard tried to sell his medical records for €15 millionbluewin.ch and 2 more
  10. 2025Sly Stone was living in a van when a jury awarded him $5 million in stolen royalties, and the award against his manager was reversedthegrio.com and 2 more
  11. 2025Bill Gates said in May 2025 the Gates Foundation will spend its endowment and close on 31 December 2045The New York Times and 3 more
  12. 2025Nick Reiner, charged with killing Rob and Michele Reiner, sues for his $1.5 million trust fundDeadline and 5 more
  13. 2025Two half-brothers were each crowned Pakubuwono XIII in 2004, and in 2025 two of the next king's sons each took the title Pakubuwono XIVthejakartapost.com and 8 more
  14. 2025Giorgio Armani's will orders his heirs to sell 15 percent of his company to a rival group within 18 monthsksl.com and 2 more
  15. 2025Venezuela seized foreign oil projects in 2007, and a Delaware judge ordered its US refiner Citgo sold for $5.9 billion to pay the claimsAl Jazeera and 3 more
  16. 2025A mob demolished the house where Sheikh Hasina's father was killed, and a tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia and ordered her assets confiscatednewsonair.gov.in and 2 more
  17. 2025Najib Razak's stepson made The Wolf of Wall Street with money from Malaysia's state fund, and Najib was given 15 more years in prisonjamaica-gleaner.com and 3 more
  18. 2025Brian Wilson was placed in a conservatorship after his wife died, while his first wife sued for half of a $50 million rights saledigitalmusicnews.com and 4 more
  19. 2025A year after Ozzy Osbourne died, Sharon Osbourne asked the High Court to remove his accountant of more than 40 years as executoraccountingtoday.com and 3 more
  20. 2024Alain Delon never acknowledged the son his mother raised, and French courts ruled the claim too late after both men diedici.fr and 5 more
  21. 2024Suzuki Motor was run by four adopted sons in a row, including Osamu Suzuki, who married into the family and ran it for 43 yearsglobalsuzuki.com and 4 more
  22. 2024Alain Delon's three children fought over his care and his two wills, and in 2026 two of them were fined for secretly recording the thirdLe Monde and 6 more
  23. 2024Wahaha founder Zong Qinghou's three other children froze $1.8 billion in Hong Kong to claim trusts he wrote by handcaixinglobal.com and 2 more
  24. 2024Liam Payne fell from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony with no will, and his £24 million went to his seven-year-old sontribune.com.pk and 3 more
  25. 2024Shannen Doherty signed her divorce settlement the day before she died of cancerCBS News and 2 more
  26. 2024Ratan Tata's will gave a third of the residue to a little-known Jamshedpur businessmanbusinesstoday.in and 3 more
  27. 2024Elon Musk gave his foundation $7.9 billion in Tesla stock in two years, and its filings show it paid out less than requiredCornell Law School, LII and 2 more
  28. 2024The Māori King's council passed over the son who had stood in for him and named his youngest child queen at his funeralteaonews.co.nz and 2 more
  29. 2024Mango's founder fell to his death on a hike with his son, and a judge has named the son the only suspectcatalannews.com and 3 more
  30. 2024Roberto Cavalli split his estate equally among his partner and six children, and the heirs accepted it only up to the value of his debtsilfattoquotidiano.it and 2 more
  31. 2024O.J. Simpson paid little of the $33.5 million judgment while alive, and in 2025 his executor accepted a $58 million claim from Ron Goldman's fatherfindlaw.com and 2 more
  32. 2024Navalny died in an Arctic prison colony, and the state held his body for eight days while investigators pressed his mother to agree to a secret burialglobalnews.ca and 1 more
  33. 2024Warren Buffett's will once named the Gates Foundation; he removed it in 2024 and stopped his lifetime gifts to it in 2026wowt.com and 4 more
  34. 2024Norman Jewison's three children sued after he changed his will two months before his death in 2024; the claims were settled by mediation and never tested in courtcbc.ca and 3 more
  35. 2023A 2014 letter said the four Hinduja brothers owned everything jointly, and the eldest brother's daughters fought it through his dementia and deathThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 more
  36. 2023Robert Blake was acquitted of murdering his wife, then ordered to pay her children $30 millionCNN and 2 more
  37. 2023Gina Lollobrigida left half her estate to an assistant who was convicted of exploiting her, and her son says €10 million is gonecorriere.it and 6 more
  38. 2023After Mohamed Al Fayed died, more than 180 women came forward, and Harrods went to court over his estateleighday.co.uk and 3 more
  39. 2023Matthew Perry died of ketamine, and his doctor, his assistant and a dealer called the "Ketamine Queen" were prosecutedktvu.com and 2 more
  40. 2023Michael Oher of "The Blind Side" learned he was never adopted, and a judge ended the Tuohy conservatorshiptoday.com and 2 more
  41. 2023Silvio Berlusconi left €100 million to his 33-year-old partner and €30 million to a friend convicted of mafia tiesansa.it and 3 more
  42. 2023Greece took its exiled king's palaces without payment, and the European Court ordered €13.7 million in compensationWikipedia (English)
  43. 2023The SEC fined the LDS Church and Ensign Peak $5 million for hiding its stock portfolio behind 13 shell companiessec.gov and 2 more
  44. 2023LG's chairman adopted his nephew as heir; his widow and daughters sued to undo the share split and the adoption, and lost both in 2026The Korea Times and 3 more
  45. 2023Mohbad's father has kept the singer unburied for nearly three years until a court-ordered DNA test shows whether his grandson is his son's childradionigerialagos.gov.ng and 3 more
  46. 2023Abby Choi's former husband and his father and brother are on trial for her murder over a flat she had put in her father-in-law's namethestar.com.my and 2 more
  47. 2023The last Nizam of Hyderabad inherited one of the world's largest fortunes and died in Turkey after losing most of itthenewsminute.com and 4 more
  48. 2023Israeli troops shot hostage Yotam Haim as he fled his captors, and in 2026 a court let his mother use his sperm for a grandchildtimesofisrael.com and 2 more
  49. 2023FBI spy Robert Hanssen forfeited $1.4 million from Moscow and his pension, and his plea deal left his wife the house, three cars and a survivor annuityjustice.gov and 3 more
  50. 2023Matteo Messina Denaro owned nothing on paper when he was caught after 30 years on the run, and gave his surname to his daughter weeks before he diedopen.online and 2 more
  51. 2023People in the old county of Lancashire who die with no will and no kin leave their estates to the King, and the Guardian found the money refurbishing his rental propertytheconversation.com and 2 more
  52. 2023Chuck Feeney secretly handed his Duty Free Shoppers stake to a foundation in 1984, gave away more than $8 billion, and kept about $2 millionatlanticphilanthropies.org and 2 more
  53. 2023Tony Bennett's daughters sued their brother, his manager and trustee, saying a man who earned $100 million left under $7 millionnews4jax.com and 3 more
  54. 2023Lisa Marie Presley's mother contested her trust, then resigned as trustee in exchange for $1 million and a grave near Elvis at Gracelandunicourt.com and 10 more
  55. 2023Lisa Marie Presley's trust was told it owed $3.8 million on Graceland, and the Missouri woman who forged the loan got 57 months in prisonjustice.gov and 5 more
  56. 2023Jimmy Buffett left his widow a $275 million trust with his accountant as co-trustee, and each has asked a court to remove the othercdn.theconversation.com and 8 more
  57. 2023Rupert Murdoch tried to rewrite his family trust so Lachlan would control his companies, and a Nevada commissioner found they acted in bad faithwashoecourts.com and 8 more
  58. 2023Harry Belafonte tried to sell Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers, King's children said they were wrongfully taken, and Belafonte sued them and kept the papersupr.org and 3 more
  59. 2023The original Hermes bag made for Jane Birkin sold at Sotheby's Paris in July 2025 for 8.58 million euros, the highest price paid for a handbag at auctionBloomberg and 3 more
  60. 2022Leonardo Del Vecchio split his holding company into eight equal shares, and his heirs are suing in Milan and Luxembourgtg24.sky.it and 8 more
  61. 2022Anne Heche's ex said a 2011 email was her will, and the court gave her estate to her 20-year-old sonetonline.com and 3 more
  62. 2022Wendy Williams has been under a guardianship since 2022 and is still asking a New York court to end itatlantablackstar.com and 3 more
  63. 2022Pelé fought a paternity case he lost, and after his death a woman claimed his estate until two DNA tests failedprimicias.ec and 3 more
  64. 2022The Tata board removed Cyrus Mistry in 2016, and India's Supreme Court upheld it over the minority family's appealeconomictimes.indiatimes.com and 3 more
  65. 2022Barre Seid gave his company to a new 501(c)(4) run by Leonard Leo, a $1.6 billion political gift that avoided up to $400 million in taxpropublica.org and 2 more
  66. 2022Angola's former president died in Barcelona, a daughter fought to bury him in Spain, and a Spanish court sent the body to his widow in Luandavoaafrica.com and 5 more
  67. 2022Hawaii's "last princess" was ruled unable to manage her $215 million trust, married her partner during the court fight, and the settlement gave her wife $40 millioncivilbeat.org and 2 more
  68. 2022Gal Costa's adopted son asked to exhume her and challenged her widow's claim to half the estate, then settled for an equal splitcnnbrasil.com.br and 4 more
  69. 2022Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju's family paid inheritance tax with 29.3 percent of his holding company, and the government could not find a buyerKorea JoongAng Daily and 2 more
  70. 2022A Miami businessman burned a drawing he said was Frida Kahlo's to sell 10,000 NFTs, and Mexico investigated because her work is a national monumentSmithsonian Magazine and 2 more
  71. 2022Angola's president made his daughter head of the state oil company; his successor fired her, and courts froze her assets in four countriesicij.org and 3 more
  72. 2022Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky's youngest son agreed to sell his manuscripts for $7 million; his brothers said Torah law split the estate among three sons and none of the five daughtershe.wikisource.org and 3 more
  73. 2022Naomi Judd's will named her husband executor, and her family sued to keep the police file on her death sealedNBC News and 5 more
  74. 2022Sidhu Moose Wala's parents won his song copyright in court, had a son by IVF at 58, and were questioned by the state over the babyLiveLaw and 4 more
  75. 2022Jerry Lee Lewis put his ranch in his manager's name to hide it from the IRS; after he died, a judge ordered his son out and the manager's heirs listed it for $1.6 millionsavingcountrymusic.com and 4 more
  76. 2022Takeoff of Migos was shot dead with no will; his mother and father are fighting over the money the bowling alley paid for his deathcomplex.com and 4 more
  77. 2022Bernie Worrell's widow sued George Clinton for half of 264 Parliament-Funkadelic recordings, and an appeals court sent the case to trialmusicbusinessworldwide.com and 4 more
  78. 2022Nichelle Nichols's son became her conservator in 2019 and fought her manager in court; after her 2022 death a jury awarded her family $13 million, capped at $400,000abqjournal.com and 4 more
  79. 2021The Barclay twins' nephews bugged the Ritz conservatory and recorded their uncle's business talksthecaterer.com and 3 more
  80. 2021Melinda French Gates left the Gates Foundation with $12.5 billion from Bill Gates under their divorce agreementnbcwashington.com and 2 more
  81. 2021Tengelmann chief Karl-Erivan Haub vanished near the Matterhorn, and his brother bought out his widow and childrenorf.at and 7 more
  82. 2021Argentine president Carlos Menem's son from his prison-era affair was recognised by a court only in 2006, after his mother's deathpagina12.com.ar and 2 more
  83. 2021Tom Girardi was put under his brother's conservatorship with Alzheimer's disease, then convicted of stealing client money and sent to prison at 86Los Angeles Times and 7 more
  84. 2021South Korea could not collect 86.7 billion won of Chun Doo-hwan's forfeiture after he diedThe Korea Herald and 8 more
  85. 2021DMX died without a will, leaving 15 children, a fiancée the court would not recognize, and an estate valued under $1 millionxxlmag.com and 3 more
  86. 2021The Zulu king's widow challenged his will as forged, and his successor's recognition went to South Africa's highest courtmg.co.za and 2 more
  87. 2021Japan's Princess Mako refused a ¥140 million payout to marry a commoner and lost her royal statusWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  88. 2021Bernard Tapie was beaten in his home six months before he died owing the state more than 400 million euros, and his widow lost her flatthelocal.fr and 3 more
  89. 2021An 88-year-old Shanghai man signed his 3 million yuan home over to the fruit seller who cared for him, a court later declared him incapable, and the gift still stoodbjnews.com.cn and 2 more
  90. 2021Bitcoin pioneer Mircea Popescu drowned off Costa Rica, and no heir or keyholder has come forward for coins said to number up to a millionteletica.com and 2 more
  91. 2021Majid Al Futtaim died with ten heirs and a $16 billion mall group, and a court set up by Dubai's ruler gave government appointees five of nine board seatsgulfnews.com and 4 more
  92. 2021Equatorial Guinea's vice president bought a Paris mansion on a minister's salary, France confiscated it, and the UN court refused to stop the saleNBC News and 4 more
  93. 2021Alex Murdaugh renounced his murdered wife's estate, the family estate sold for $3.9 million, and in 2026 South Carolina's top court threw out his murder convictiondigital-release.wsav.com and 3 more
  94. 2021Bernie Madoff died in prison, his sons' estates gave up their fortunes, and the trustee recovered $15.5 billionmadofftrustee.com and 3 more
  95. 2021In HBO's Succession, the children's veto over the family company sat in their parents' divorce deal, and their father and mother renegotiated it awaynyunews.com and 3 more
  96. 2021The Order of Malta's Grand Master fired his chancellor in 2016, the Pope forced the Grand Master out, and a 30-million-franc gift from a Geneva trust sat behind the fightNBC News and 2 more
  97. 2021Larry King's handwritten 2019 will left his estate to five children, two of whom died before him, and his estranged wife Shawn contested itwsbtv.com and 3 more
  98. 2021Phil Spector died in prison serving a murder sentence; his daughter sued his ex-wife, alleging she posed as the daughter to sell his memorabiliatheblast.com and 6 more
  99. 2021The widow of Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" co-writer sued for a share of his $300 million song sale and lost twicenycourts.gov and 3 more
  100. 2021Bunny Wailer's wife was missing when he died, his 13 children were told to take DNA tests, and his son sued to remove his brother as executorInternet Archive and 4 more
  101. 2021Vicente Fernández's widow went to court to stop Televisa using his name for a biopic, and the series aired anywayinfobae.com and 5 more
  102. 2021Trustees for the family of Mondrian's heir Harry Holtzman sued the Philadelphia Museum of Art in December 2021 for a painting the Nazis took from a Hanover museum in 1937, valued at over $100 milliongovinfo.gov and 2 more
  103. 2020Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee's heirs paid 12 trillion won in inheritance tax, the largest in Korean historykhan.co.kr and 3 more
  104. 2020Diego Maradona left five recognised heirs, more paternity claims, and two trials over his death and his namelacapital.com.ar and 3 more
  105. 2020Sumner Redstone's ex-girlfriend said he was incompetent, the judge disagreed, and his daughter took control of CBS and Viacomfortune.com and 2 more
  106. 2020Lotte's 93-year-old founder fired his younger son, the shareholders kept the son, and a court put the father under guardianshipThe Korea Herald and 2 more
  107. 2020The Marquess of Bath's trustees asked the High Court in 2026 to let his surrogate-born son into the Longleat trustsThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 more
  108. 2020The heir of the House of Hanover offered Marienburg Castle to the state for one euro, and his father sued him for gross ingratitudelto.de and 7 more
  109. 2020Bulgaria sued its former tsar to take back his palaces, and the Supreme Court gave him Tsarska Bistritsa but the state got Vrana parkvks.bg and 4 more
  110. 2020Banco Espírito Santo collapsed in 2014 and its chief Ricardo Salgado was sentenced to eight yearsobservador.pt and 9 more
  111. 2020Steve Bing's father asked a court to rule that Bing's two children born outside marriage were not his grandchildren, and lostwealthmanagement.com and 3 more
  112. 2020Zappos founder Tony Hsieh died with no will, and five years later a will appeared in the mail naming a witness who may not existyahoo.com and 3 more
  113. 2020Deputies and firefighters shared photos of Kobe Bryant's remains, and his widow won $28.85 million from Los Angeles Countyetonline.com and 2 more
  114. 2020Oman's sultan died childless, and his successor's name was read from a sealed envelopeWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  115. 2020Joseph Safra's son sued his mother and brothers over the family bank, alleging his father had been influenced to change his will, and settled in 2024forbes.com.br and 1 more
  116. 2020One Sursock left his Beirut villa to the city as a museum; another Sursock palace passed to a single heiress; the 2020 port blast hit both, and she died of her injuriessursock.museum and 3 more
  117. 2020A Delhi court ruled that Sushant Singh Rajput's publicity rights died with him, so his father could not stop a film about his deathLiveLaw and 2 more
  118. 2020Jack Whittaker won a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot, and his granddaughter and daughter were found dead within seven yearswvencyclopedia.org and 2 more
  119. 2020An unmarried Delhi man froze his sperm before chemotherapy, a court ruled it was property his parents inherit, and the government appealedscconline.com and 3 more
  120. 2020A Bangkok dealer died under US indictment for selling looted Khmer statues, and his daughter gave the 125 pieces she inherited back to Cambodiaice.gov and 4 more
  121. 2020Pierre Cardin's great-nephew found a will naming him sole heir to an €800 million estate, and a Paris court ruled it was not a willfashionunited.fr and 2 more
  122. 2020Hanmi Pharm's founder died owing a family tax bill of 500 billion won, his widow and daughter agreed to merge with OCI, and his sons stopped it at a shareholder voteThe Korea Times and 8 more
  123. 2020Czechoslovakia seized the Prince of Liechtenstein's estates as German property in 1945, and when one of his paintings was lent to Cologne, every court turned him awayicj-cij.org and 3 more
  124. 2020Venezuela's 31 tonnes of gold have sat in the Bank of England through two rival governments, a captured president and an earthquakesupremecourt.uk and 4 more
  125. 2020Switzerland froze 700 million francs tied to Mubarak's circle in 2011, and after 11 years released the last 400 million to its ownerspubliceye.ch and 3 more
  126. 2020MF DOOM's widow sued a former label manager for 31 notebooks of lyrics and got them back in 2025musictech.com and 3 more
  127. 2020Stanley Ho sued 11 defendants, including 2 of his wives and 5 of his children, hours after saying on television he would not sue his familyhkexnews.hk and 15 more
  128. 2020Little Richard's brother emailed the buyer about elder abuse and racism, the buyer withdrew its offer for the estate's rights, and the court took away his sharetncourts.gov and 2 more
  129. 2020Charley Pride's son by a flight attendant was left out of the will, barred from the funeral, and sued the widow of 60 yearsnbcdfw.com and 3 more
  130. 2020Caroline Flack died in February 2020 before an assault trial; the coroner found the prosecution was among the causes, and her family said police and prosecutors singled her outlawgazette.co.uk and 3 more
  131. 2020Kirk Douglas left most of a $61 million estate to charity and nothing to his son MichaelInternet Archive and 3 more
  132. 2020Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 without a will, and his widow filed in Los Angeles to run an estate first listed at $938,500today.com and 3 more
  133. 2019MacKenzie Scott left her marriage with 4 percent of Amazon and gave Jeff Bezos the votesInternet Archive and 2 more
  134. 2019Korean Air's "nut rage" heiress joined an activist fund to oust her brother, and lost the shareholder voteThe Korea Times and 2 more
  135. 2019Porsche tried to buy Volkswagen and ended up owned by it, and Ferdinand Piëch was later forced out of VWporsche-se.com and 8 more
  136. 2019Nipsey Hussle was shot dead outside his store, and his family took guardianship of his daughter from her motherokayplayer.com and 3 more
  137. 2019Goo Hara's mother left when she was a child and claimed half her estate; Korea changed its inheritance lawsoompi.com and 3 more
  138. 2019Pat Bowlen's trust was meant to keep the Broncos in his family; two daughters and his brother sued, and the team was soldcpr.org and 2 more
  139. 2019A London judge ordered Dubai's ruler to provide £554 million to the ex-wife whose phone he had hackedAl Jazeera and 1 more
  140. 2019The Sacklers drew $11 billion out of Purdue Pharma, museums removed their name, and the Supreme Court voided their release in 2024Supreme Court of the United States and 2 more
  141. 2019Jeffrey Epstein signed his will two days before he died in jail; victims' claims cut the $577 million estate to about $107 millionedition.cnn.com and 11 more
  142. 2019K.K. Modi's trust deed split his family into court cases, and his son accused his mother's side of having him assaulted at a board meetingindialegallive.com and 4 more
  143. 2019A Sinar Mas son was left 1 billion rupiah, sued his half-brothers over an estate he put at 649 trillion rupiah, and lost his status as a legitimate childfinance.detik.com and 4 more
  144. 2019João Gilberto's daughter had him declared incapable while he faced eviction, and his heirs won R$150 million from his record label after he diedrollingstone.com.br and 3 more
  145. 2019Tob Cohen's body was found in the septic tank of his Nairobi home, and his widow is on trial for his murder while his will leaves the estate to his sisterstandardmedia.co.ke and 4 more
  146. 2019Robert Mugabe left about $10 million and no will, and a village chief fined his widow five cows and ordered his body dug upAl Jazeera and 2 more
  147. 2019José José's older children searched Miami hospitals and funeral homes for his body, and two wills name different heirshola.com and 2 more
  148. 2019Gugu Liberato's will left nothing to the mother of his three children, and a chef who said he was Gugu's partner of eight years sued as wellagazeta.com.br and 3 more
  149. 2019Tanzanian tycoon Reginald Mengi's will left his estate to his second wife and their twins, and the High Court threw it outtheeastafrican.co.ke and 2 more
  150. 2019Kelantan's council made the sultan's son sultan while the father lay ill, and the father asked the Federal Court to give his throne backInternet Archive and 5 more
  151. 2019Karl Lagerfeld left about €200 million to his assistant, models, his godson and his cat, and seven years later a French tax claim and a will challenge hold itvol.at and 3 more
  152. 2019El Chapo was ordered to forfeit $12.6 billion, and two of the sons who inherited his cartel faction pleaded guilty in Chicagoapi-prod.gothamist.com and 2 more
  153. 2019Tunisia's president proposed equal inheritance for daughters and sons, died before parliament voted, and his successor called the debate falseAl Jazeera and 4 more
  154. 2019In Knives Out, a novelist leaves everything to his nurse, his grandson frames her so the slayer rule will cut her out, and the plan failsthewealthadvisor.com and 2 more
  155. 2019Doris Day's husband died in 1968 and she learned her lawyer and her husband had lost her earnings; a court awarded the couple $26,396,511FindLaw Caselaw and 3 more
  156. 2018XXXTentacion was shot dead at 20, and his son was born seven months later outside his willnbcmiami.com and 2 more
  157. 2018Crypto CEO Gerald Cotten died in India holding the only keys to C$215 million, and regulators found the money was already goneadvisor.ca and 3 more
  158. 2018Sun Hung Kai's chairman was removed by his mother and brothers, who said he was mentally ill, and cut from the family trustfamilybusinessmagazine.com and 2 more
  159. 2018Magna founder Frank Stronach sued his daughter and grandchildren over the family's racing empireglobalnews.ca and 2 more
  160. 2018Baron Empain was kidnapped in Paris in 1978, lost part of a finger, was held 63 days, and sold his stake in Empain-Schneider three years laterLe Monde and 4 more
  161. 2018A Texas-born princess was evicted from the Roman villa with Caravaggio's only mural after six auctions drew no bidsartribune.com and 6 more
  162. 2018A Delhi court forced a former chief minister to give blood for a paternity test; his son won, and was killed a year after the father diedindiatoday.in and 4 more
  163. 2018Robert Indiana was sued the day before he died alone on a Maine island, and his LOVE estate spent years in courtmaine.gov and 3 more
  164. 2018Japan's "Don Juan of Kishu" left his fortune to his town; his widow was acquitted of killing him and may still inherit halfInternet Archive and 3 more
  165. 2018Stan Lee's last manager was charged with elder abuse after the Marvel creator diednbclosangeles.com and 2 more
  166. 2018Paul Allen's will ordered his teams sold, and his sister sold the Trail Blazers for about $4 billionInternet Archive and 3 more
  167. 2018Tom Benson's daughter and grandchildren sued to have him declared incompetent after he gave the Saints to his third wifeespn.com and 2 more
  168. 2018Ingvar Kamprad put IKEA into a Dutch foundation in 1982 that The Economist called the world's richest charity and one of its least generousThe Economist and 3 more
  169. 2018New York shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2018 and Trump paid $2 million to eight charitiesag.ny.gov and 1 more
  170. 2018Banking heir Matthew Mellon died with $193 million in XRP, the keys hidden under other people's names, and a deal that let his estate sell only a little each daydailydot.com and 2 more
  171. 2018Japan hanged Aum's founder in 2018, his daughters fought over his ashes, and the state refused to hand them over until a 2026 court orderenglish.adnkronos.com and 1 more
  172. 2018Whitey Bulger hid $822,000 in the walls of his Santa Monica flat, and the Marshals sold his belongings for his victims' familiesCBS News and 3 more
  173. 2018Avicii died at 28 without a will; his parents inherited about $25 million and sold 75 percent of his catalogdancingastronaut.com and 2 more
  174. 2018Aretha Franklin's 2014 will was found in a notebook under her couch cushions, a jury upheld it in 2023, and her estate was still open in 2026wdet.org and 8 more
  175. 2018Burt Reynolds's 2018 will named his son Quinton as intentionally omitted and routed his assets through a trust run by his niecetmz.com and 3 more
  176. 2017Johnny Hallyday disinherited two of his children under California law, and a French court ruled French law appliedeapil.org and 3 more
  177. 2017Arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi's ex-wife won a divorce payment reported near $874 million, then the largest on recordfindlaw.com and 2 more
  178. 2017Liliane Bettencourt gave a photographer about €1 billion, and her daughter's complaint ended in his convictionabcnews.com and 8 more
  179. 2017Jerry Lewis's will excluded all six sons from his first marriage and their childrenavclub.com and 1 more
  180. 2017Bill Paxton's family sued his surgeon and Cedars-Sinai after he died following heart surgeryDeadline and 2 more
  181. 2017Billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife were found strangled at their pool; police first called it murder-suicide, and the case is unsolvedthestar.com and 4 more
  182. 2017Aaron Hernandez's suicide wiped out his murder conviction, and two years later the state's top court put it backinsurancejournal.com and 1 more
  183. 2017Glen Campbell's wills cut out three of his eight children, and they challenged his capacity after Alzheimer'snewschannel5.com and 2 more
  184. 2017Tom Petty's daughters sued his widow for $5 million over control of his musicRolling Stone and 2 more
  185. 2017Romania's King Michael was forced to sign a pre-typed abdication, and his grandson was later struck from the successionWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  186. 2017Malaysia stopped paying the Sulu sultan's heirs in 2013, and a Spanish arbitrator awarded them US$14.92 billionsagc.sabah.gov.my and 7 more
  187. 2017An H. L. Hunt great-grandson took a nine-figure settlement and promised not to contest his father's will, then contested itca5.uscourts.gov and 3 more
  188. 2017North Korea's leader's half-brother was killed with VX at Kuala Lumpur airport, and Malaysia traded his body for nine of its citizens held in Pyongyangfoxnews.com and 3 more
  189. 2017Lil Peep's mother sued his management company for wrongful death and settled with control of his musicfoxla.com and 1 more
  190. 2017Chris Cornell's widow sued Soundgarden over his last seven recordings and called their $278,000 buyout offer "villainously low"loudwire.com and 4 more
  191. 2017Chester Bennington left everything to his widow and six children, and his first wife's claim took half of his Linkin Park royaltiesloudwire.com and 4 more
  192. 2016The Ranbaxy brothers sold their drug company for billions, owed the buyer Rs 3,500 crore, and were arrested over their lenderscroll.in and 2 more
  193. 2016Esselunga founder Bernardo Caprotti took back the shares he had given his children and left control to his second wife and daughterilfattoquotidiano.it and 5 more
  194. 2016The 6th Duke of Westminster's £9 billion estate passed in trust to his 25-year-old son over three daughtersThe Guardian and 7 more
  195. 2016Anton Schlecker's drugstore chain collapsed in 2012, and his son and daughter went to prison for taking 7 million euros out firstbundesgerichtshof.de and 2 more
  196. 2016A former baker bought a prince's title by adult adoption, sold it on to adopted sons, and became Zsa Zsa Gabor's heirgoodmorningamerica.com and 4 more
  197. 2016Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband ran her estate as conservator and moved most of her ashes to Budapesttmz.com and 3 more
  198. 2016Harper Lee's second novel was published when she was frail and her lawyer controlled her affairs; her will stayed sealed until The New York Times suedthebookseller.com and 3 more
  199. 2016Juan Gabriel left everything to one son, and a man claiming to be another son asked a court for part of his remainsloeb.com and 2 more
  200. 2016Thailand's new king changed the law to put the Crown Property Bureau's billions in his own nameReuters and 2 more
  201. 2016Evergreen's founder left his whole personal fortune to his youngest son, the three older half-brothers removed him from the airline, and the courts upheld the willtaiwannews.com.tw and 3 more
  202. 2016Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski sold his family's collection to Poland for €100 million, the money went to Liechtenstein, and he sued his daughternik.gov.pl and 4 more
  203. 2016Qatar's emir took power from his cousin in 1972; in 1995 his son took it from him and froze his bank accounts abroadarchives.mees.com and 7 more
  204. 2016Jayalalithaa left no will; a court gave her house to her niece and nephew, and the state took 21 kilos of her goldLiveLaw and 4 more
  205. 2016A Saudi billionaire took a diplomatic post to defeat his ex-wife's claim, lost, and died nine days before he had to pay £53 millionarchive.news.stv.tv and 3 more
  206. 2016Douyin creators sold AI videos of dead actor Qiao Renliang saying he had not really left, and his father asked who gave them the rightsixthtone.com and 2 more
  207. 2016Curt Engelhorn sold Boehringer Mannheim to Roche with no German tax paid, two of his daughters were arrested, and the family settled for €135 million to €145 millionbayern.landtag.de and 4 more
  208. 2016Chesapeake founder Aubrey McClendon was indicted for rigging oil lease bids and died in a crash the next day, and the claims moved to his estatefortune.com and 3 more
  209. 2016A legal secretary bought the same stocks as her bosses for decades and left more than $8 million to scholarships, and her husband may not have knownCBS News and 3 more
  210. 2016David Bowie was cremated two days after he died with no one present, and his will asked for his ashes to go to Baliultimateclassicrock.com and 4 more
  211. 2016George Michael left his £97 million estate to his sisters and nothing to his partner, who would not leave the Regent's Park housesmoothradio.com and 4 more
  212. 2016Leonard Cohen's manager emptied his retirement fund, and after his death his children found a forged page in his trustthecanadianencyclopedia.ca and 5 more
  213. 2016Prince died without a will, more than 45 people claimed to be his relatives, and his estate took 6 years and a tax court case to dividenbcwashington.com and 16 more
  214. 2016Muhammad Ali's company sued Fox for more than $30 million over a 3-minute Super Bowl LI promotional video using his image, and Fox settledrightofpublicityroadmap.com and 5 more
  215. 2016Glenn Frey's widow sued Mount Sinai for his death and was ordered to hand over the Eagles' contractslaw.justia.com and 5 more
  216. 2016Lou Pearlman built the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC on a $300 million Ponzi scheme, fled to Bali, and died in prison as investors got 6 cents on the dollarInternet Archive and 4 more
  217. 2016Zaha Hadid's business partner sued her three co-executors in London over a roughly £70 million estate and lost a key ruling in November 2020The National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 more
  218. 2016Debbie Reynolds never raised the money for her Hollywood museum, sold her 3,500-item collection in 2011, and her estate auctioned more after she died a day after Carrie Fishernbclosangeles.com and 4 more
  219. 2015A Korean court ordered SK Group's chairman to pay his ex-wife 1.38 trillion won, and the Supreme Court threw it outBBC and 3 more
  220. 2015Samsung's founder's eldest son sued his brother Lee Kun-hee for 4.1 trillion won in shares and lostThe Korea Times and 2 more
  221. 2015A Japanese furniture founder fired his daughter, she beat him in a proxy fight, and the company was soldamt-law.com and 2 more
  222. 2015Spain seized José María Ruiz-Mateos's Rumasa group by decree in 1983, and his second group collapsed in 2011europapress.es and 6 more
  223. 2015Kirk Kerkorian's investigator took Steve Bing's dental floss from the trash and proved Kerkorian's "daughter" was Bing's childdailyjournal.com and 4 more
  224. 2015Lee Kuan Yew's will asked that his house be demolished, and Singapore made it a national monument over his son's objectionmccy.gov.sg and 3 more
  225. 2015Kirk Kerkorian left $2 billion to charity, and his 57-day wife was paid to go awayLos Angeles Times and 2 more
  226. 2015Two Rothschild banks went to law over who could use the family name alone, and settled in 2018 that neither mayswissinfo.ch and 3 more
  227. 2015Yogyakarta's sultan has five daughters and no son, and all 11 of his younger brothers opposed him when he raised the eldest toward the thronenewmandala.org and 3 more
  228. 2015Hamdard split at Partition, its Pakistani founder was shot dead in Karachi, and the Delhi heirs' fight over the waqf took Rooh Afza off Indian shelveslivelawbiz.com and 3 more
  229. 2015Police found the P2 lodge's 962 names in Licio Gelli's factory in 1981, and after he died prosecutors asked a court to confiscate his villa from a dead manIl Post and 3 more
  230. 2015B.B. King's daughters accused his manager and his assistant of poisoning him; the coroner found no poison and the manager kept control of the estateCBS News and 4 more
  231. 2015Scott Weiland's 2007 will made his ex-wife executor over his widow, and she spent years settling his tax liens and lawsuitslanacion.com.ar and 5 more
  232. 2015Joni Mitchell's friend told a court the singer was unconscious while her website said she was alert, and won control of her medical carebostonglobe.com and 2 more
  233. 2014Casey Kasem's wife and children fought over his care until he died, then she took his body to Norwayabc7.com and 3 more
  234. 2014A London judge awarded a Russian oligarch's ex-wife £453 million, then found their son had helped hide itCourts and Tribunals Judiciary and 3 more
  235. 2014"Putin's banker" put $100 million into New Zealand trusts for his family, and a London judge ruled the trusts were shamsThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 2 more
  236. 2014Vladimir Potanin's ex-wife sought billions in Moscow, then moved to London to try again, and the UK Supreme Court stopped her 3 to 2The National Archives, Find Case Law and 1 more
  237. 2014Hedge fund manager Chris Hohn was ordered to pay his ex-wife about $530 million, and the judge called him a financial geniusCourts and Tribunals Judiciary and 2 more
  238. 2014The 11th Duke of Marlborough went to court in 1994 so his drug-addicted heir would never control Blenheim PalaceThe Guardian and 7 more
  239. 2014The Duchess of Alba gave her estate to her six children before marrying a civil servant 24 years youngerarchive.boston.com and 6 more
  240. 2014Spain's Supreme Court admitted a paternity suit against Juan Carlos I, then threw it out 7 votes to 3legaltoday.com and 4 more
  241. 2014Mickey Rooney worked 90 years and left an $18,000 estate to one stepsonCNN and 2 more
  242. 2014Ken Takakura's adopted daughter cremated him before his family knew he had died, and inherited his estate and film rightsfriday.kodansha.co.jp and 3 more
  243. 2014A recluse found with 1,406 artworks in his Munich flat left them all to a Swiss museum, and his cousin said he was not of sound mindInternet Archive and 4 more
  244. 2014Gabriel García Márquez said his last novel must be destroyed; his sons published it on his 97th birthdayeuronews.com and 3 more
  245. 2014Doctors declared Donald Sterling incapacitated, and his wife sold the Clippers out from under him for $2 billionNPR and 1 more
  246. 2014Spain's King Felipe renounced his father's inheritance after a $100 million Saudi payment came to light, and Juan Carlos left for Abu Dhabieuronews.com and 2 more
  247. 2014A Qatari collector died in 2014 owing auction houses millions; his heirs split over his blue diamond, and a cousin's company sued to buy itThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 2 more
  248. 2014L'Wren Scott left her $9 million estate to Mick Jagger and wrote that she had left out her family on purposeCBS News and 2 more
  249. 2014A Vermont gas station attendant and janitor left more than $8 million in stocks, and his stepson had no idearutlandherald.com and 2 more
  250. 2014Switzerland's top court ruled that Baby Doc's family could have his frozen millions hours before the Haiti earthquake, and parliament passed a law to stop itswissinfo.ch and 3 more
  251. 2014After the Sewol sank with 304 dead, the man prosecutors called its real owner fled, was found dead in a plum field, and the state went after his family's assetsThe Korea Herald and 3 more
  252. 2014Robin Williams's widow and three children fought in a San Francisco court over his belongings, and the children got more than 85 watchesjournals.law.harvard.edu and 12 more
  253. 2014Joan Rivers's executors sued the Manhattan clinic where she stopped breathing during a throat procedure and settled in 2016 for an undisclosed sumamp.insurancejournal.com and 6 more
  254. 2014Philip Seymour Hoffman left an estimated $35 million to Mimi O'Donnell, whom he never married, and refused a trust for his three childrenfoxnews.com and 3 more
  255. 2013An oil trader hid London houses inside his companies, and the UK Supreme Court ordered them handed to his ex-wifeThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 2 more
  256. 2013A DNA test showed a baronet's grandfather was not his father's son, and the Privy Council gave the title to a cousinbailii.org and 3 more
  257. 2013Paul Walker left $25 million to his 15-year-old daughter, who then sued Porschenydailynews.com and 3 more
  258. 2013Amanda Bynes lived under her mother's conservatorship for nine yearsCNN and 1 more
  259. 2013Jerry Buss's sons tried to vote their sister off the Lakers board; she went to court and removed one of them as trusteeespn.com and 2 more
  260. 2013A Belgian court ordered King Albert II to take a DNA test, and his secret daughter became a princess with inheritance rightsWikipedia (English) and 1 more
  261. 2013A granddaughter accused TV evangelists Paul and Jan Crouch in 2012 of spending their network's donations on themselvesLos Angeles Times and 2 more
  262. 2013Rabbi Ovadia Yosef left nearly everything to his youngest son; his other children fought over the Jerusalem flat until 2016theyeshivaworld.com and 5 more
  263. 2013Nelson Mandela's grandson moved three of Mandela's children's graves to his own village, and 16 relatives won a court order to return them to Qunu in 2013mg.co.za and 4 more
  264. 2013Boris Berezovsky lost his case against Abramovich, died seven months later, and a judge called his estate hopelessly insolventThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 6 more
  265. 2013A Chinese couple died in a car crash five days before their embryos were to be implanted, and four years later a surrogate from Laos gave birth to their sonblogs.loc.gov and 2 more
  266. 2013Mandela's eldest daughter put his ID card, shirts and a Robben Island key up for auction in New York, and the state fought the sale to the Constitutional CourtSmithsonian Magazine and 2 more
  267. 2013Missoni's chief executive vanished in a plane off Venezuela, his father died before the wreck was found, and the family gave up the companythelocal.it and 3 more
  268. 2013China's courts jail grave robbers who sell women's corpses as "ghost brides" for sons who died unmarriedmadeinchinajournal.com and 2 more
  269. 2013Two brothers bought life insurance to keep their company in the family, and the Supreme Court counted the payout in the dead brother's estateSupreme Court of the United States and 2 more
  270. 2013Tom Clancy signed a codicil 68 days before he died, and the top court of Maryland ruled 4 to 3 that it freed his widow's family trust from estate taxmdcourts.gov and 3 more
  271. 2013James Gandolfini's will left 80 percent of an estimated $70 million estate to his sisters and infant daughter, and a tax lawyer said about $30 million would go to taxesABA Journal and 3 more
  272. 2012Whitney Houston left everything to her daughter; three years later the daughter died and the money went to Whitney's mother and brothersabcnews.com and 3 more
  273. 2012Harold Hamm's ex-wife refused his $974.8 million check, then cashed it and lost her appeal for moreNBC News and 2 more
  274. 2012A Tetra Pak heir kept his wife's body in their London house for two monthsForbes and 7 more
  275. 2012Aldi's Theo Albrecht was ransomed for 7 million marks, and his son's widow fought the family foundation for a decadeiww.de and 7 more
  276. 2012Sherman Hemsley's body stayed in a funeral home refrigerator for months while a half-brother contested his willCNN and 2 more
  277. 2012Rajesh Khanna's live-in partner sued his widow and daughters for 14 years, and his bungalow was sold for Rs 90 crore and torn downThe Times of India and 5 more
  278. 2012Thomas Kinkade's girlfriend produced handwritten notes leaving her his mansion and $10 million, and his estranged wife said he was drunk when he wrote themCBS News and 3 more
  279. 2012Jenni Rivera's children sued their grandfather's label for exploiting her music, and the family split in courtremezcla.com and 2 more
  280. 2012Tonga's constitution lets only children born in marriage inherit the throne or a noble estate, so King George Tupou V's daughter could not succeed himWikisource (primary text) and 4 more
  281. 2012A Chicago man died of cyanide the day after his $1 million lottery check was issued, and his widow and siblings fought over the estateNBC News and 2 more
  282. 2012A 15-year-old died under a subway train, and her parents fought Facebook for eight years to read her messagesbundesgerichtshof.de and 3 more
  283. 2012Lacoste's chairman sued to annul his daughter's appointment, then both sides of the family sold to the Swiss partnerthelocal.fr and 2 more
  284. 2012Switzerland's oldest bank took the American clients UBS dropped, pleaded guilty in New York, and closed after 272 yearsjustice.gov and 2 more
  285. 2012Roman Blum left about $40 million and no will in 2012, a Surrogate's Court threw out a will naming a disbarred lawyer, and a Moscow man says he is the great-grandsonCBS News and 3 more
  286. 2012Etta James's husband and her son fought in court over her $1 million while she was dying of leukemiathegrio.com and 4 more
  287. 2012Davy Jones's 2004 will left out the wife he married in 2009; she petitioned for half as a pretermitted spouse and the family sealed the filem.flsenate.gov and 2 more
  288. 2012Donna Summer's estate refused Kanye West permission to use "I Feel Love," sued when he used it anyway, and made him agree never to distribute the songthegrio.com and 3 more
  289. 2012Robin Gibb left a £93 million fortune to his wife and three children; his daughter with the housekeeper got a closing line in the willhellomagazine.com and 4 more
  290. 2012Gore Vidal changed his trust in 2011 to leave everything to Harvard, and his half-sister and nephew suedwashingtonian.com and 3 more
  291. 2012Maurice Sendak's foundation and the Rosenbach Museum fought for two years in a Connecticut probate court over his rare-book collectionSmithsonian Magazine and 3 more
  292. 2012Celeste Holm's sons sued her fifth husband over a 2002 trust, the fight ran about six years, and she died in 2012 with a $13 million estate and a settlement forcing him out of her apartmentdnainfo.com and 4 more
  293. 2011Steve Jobs swore he was sterile to avoid paying for his daughter, lost on a blood test, and later left her millionsfortune.com and 2 more
  294. 2011A singer's son by a Suharto minister changed Indonesian law: children born outside marriage can now claim their fathersnasional.kompas.com and 2 more
  295. 2011Jimmy Savile left £4.3 million to friends and his charity; abuse claims froze the estate and the courts approved paying it to his victimsBBC and 4 more
  296. 2011Peter Falk's daughter lost a conservatorship fight to his widow and then pushed for a lawLos Angeles Times and 1 more
  297. 2011Amy Winehouse's father sued her friends over $1.2 million from her dresses and lostwtop.com and 2 more
  298. 2011The Oppenheimers sold their 40 percent of De Beers for $5.1 billion in 2011, and in 2026 Anglo American offered its 85 percent for about $1 billionjckonline.com and 2 more
  299. 2011A dying woman told her mother "I want you to carry my babies," and the Court of Appeal overruled the regulator that refused to release her frozen eggsThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 2 more
  300. 2011Yuli Ofer's last will gave most of his empire to his daughter; his son said he was no longer clear of mind, and the daughter wonhaaretz.com and 2 more
  301. 2011Mike Campbell won his farm case against Zimbabwe in 2008; he was beaten, his house burned, the tribunal was shut down, and South African courts let the farmers sell Zimbabwe's Cape Town property for costssupremecourtofappeal.org.za and 2 more
  302. 2011Huguette Clark's second will cut out her relatives and left her nurse about $30 million, and the relatives settled for $34.5 millionNBC News and 5 more
  303. 2011Gil Scott-Heron died with no will; his daughter said a DNA test showed his son was not his, and a Manhattan court ruled the son was an heirInternet Archive and 3 more
  304. 2011Lucian Freud left a 96 million pound estate to his solicitor and one daughter, and a High Court judge refused to open the will to a son who was one of at least 14 childrenThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 more
  305. 2011Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry sold for $137,235,575 at Christie's in December 2011, the most ever paid for a jewelry collection, with the proceeds going to her foundationguinnessworldrecords.com and 2 more
  306. 2010LVMH secretly built a 17 percent stake in Hermès, and 52 family members locked half their shares together to stop itthefashionlaw.com and 2 more
  307. 2010Elaine Wynn's divorce left her shares voting with her ex-husband's, and she sued Wynn Resorts to break the pactfoxbusiness.com and 2 more
  308. 2010A German paper heiress's prenup held in London, and her French ex-husband's £5.85 million award was cut to £1 millionlawgazette.co.uk and 2 more
  309. 2010A polo club founder adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend after a fatal drunk-driving crash, giving her a share of his children's trustabcnews.com and 3 more
  310. 2010A Utah judge ruled Gary Coleman's ex-wife was not his common-law wife; his ashes were locked in a vaultCNN and 1 more
  311. 2010Tony Curtis left everything to his wife and named his five living children to exclude theminsideedition.com and 2 more
  312. 2010Dennis Hopper filed for divorce while dying of cancer and fought his wife over money until his deathhuffpost.com and 2 more
  313. 2010J.D. Salinger blocked an unauthorised Catcher in the Rye sequel, and his estate settled to keep it out of North America until the copyright endspublishersweekly.com and 2 more
  314. 2010Ras al-Khaimah's ruler removed his eldest son as heir after four decades; when the ruler died in 2010 the son came home to claim the throne and his guards were arrestedwashingtoninstitute.org and 3 more
  315. 2010Alexander McQueen died the day before his mother's funeral and left £50,000 to his dogs and most of £16 million to a charity for artiststhepinknews.com and 3 more
  316. 2010A man says he found the only other copy of the Korean alphabet's founding book while cleaning his house, and the state that owns it cannot find itThe Korea Herald and 2 more
  317. 2010A metal detectorist found a Roman cavalry helmet in a Cumbrian field, a private buyer paid £2.3 million after the local museum dropped out at £1.7 million, and Parliament changed the lawassets.publishing.service.gov.uk and 3 more
  318. 2010A secretary bought three Abbott shares for $180 in 1935, never sold them, and left $7 million to Lake Forest Collegelakeforest.edu and 3 more
  319. 2010Wagner's grandson held a lifetime contract at Bayreuth, refused to leave when the board named his daughter's rival, and handed the festival to his daughters at 89historynewsnetwork.org and 5 more
  320. 2009A Doosan heir exposed his brothers' slush fund to win the chairmanship, was cast out of the family, and died by suicideKorea JoongAng Daily and 2 more
  321. 2009A Saudi trading family accused its son-in-law of a $9 billion fraud, and a Cayman judge found the family had authorized himcaymancompass.com and 3 more
  322. 2009Steve Cohen's first wife sued him 19 years after their divorce, alleging he hid $5.5 million, and an appeals court revived the caseThe Wall Street Journal and 2 more
  323. 2009Bernie Ecclestone put his Formula One shares in his wife's Liechtenstein trust, and the divorce and tax cases followed the trusthellomagazine.com and 2 more
  324. 2009Kumho's board fired one founding brother, the group split in two, and the brothers sued each other for yearsKorea JoongAng Daily and 2 more
  325. 2009Indira Gandhi's government jailed Jaipur's Rajmata and searched Jaigarh Fort for treasure for five months, and found noneCaseMine and 5 more
  326. 2009Two barristers bought Countess Markievicz's childhood home and spent seven years in court with Sligo County Council over its avenuesThe Irish Times and 5 more
  327. 2009Franz Ulrich Kinsky sued the Czech state more than 100 times for land taken in 1945, and Strasbourg ruled his trials unfairEuropean Court of Human Rights and 3 more
  328. 2009Ryan O'Neal took a Warhol portrait from Farrah Fawcett's home; her university sued and losttexasmonthly.com and 2 more
  329. 2009Vivian Maier was a nanny who died unknown; after her photographs sold, Cook County took over her estate to find out who owned themnews.wttw.com and 3 more
  330. 2009Fairuz's nephews blocked her from staging her late husband's musical without their approval, and a Beirut court stopped her performing his brother's worknews.wjct.org and 3 more
  331. 2009A woman took over a $30 million lottery winner's money, and police found him buried under a concrete slabNBC News and 2 more
  332. 2009Omar Bongo left about 300 billion CFA francs and 54 children; one daughter took his heir's birth certificate to a French court, and France charged at least nine of the childrenafrik.com and 5 more
  333. 2009Russia put a dead lawyer on trial and convicted him in 2013, and the European court ordered Russia to pay his widow and mothercsmonitor.com and 2 more
  334. 2009The Staffordshire Hoard paid a jobless detectorist and a farmer £3.285 million between them, and the farmer banned him from his landhistorynewsnetwork.org and 2 more
  335. 2009Edith Windsor paid $363,053 in estate tax because the United States did not recognise her marriage to Thea Spyer, and the Supreme Court struck the law downCornell Law School, LII and 2 more
  336. 2009Maurice Jarre left his estate to his widow through a California trust, and France's highest court said his children's reserved share did not follow him abroadlegavox.fr and 4 more
  337. 2009Michael Jackson's estate put its value at $5.1 million, the Tax Court set $111.5 million, and a judge later ordered $625,000 in bonuses returnedabcnews.com and 8 more
  338. 2009Michael Jackson's companies face abuse suits from Wade Robson and James Safechuck, revived on appeal in 2023 and set for trial in 2028The Guardian and 6 more
  339. 2009Brittany Murphy's father sued the coroner for her hair samples, then said a lab found heavy metals; her mother called it a smearCBS News and 5 more
  340. 2009Allen Klein managed three Beatles, sued them for $19 million after they fired him, and took $5 million to settlelaw.resource.org and 4 more
  341. 2009David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok closet in 2009; Thai police said suicide, the family's pathologist said accident, and his widow sued the film companyabcnews.com and 3 more
  342. 2008Heath Ledger's will was written before his daughter was born and left her nothingarchive.triblive.com and 3 more
  343. 2008A Geneva court ordered a Russian fertilizer billionaire to pay his ex-wife 4 billion francs, then an appeal court cut it by 86 percentswissinfo.ch and 3 more
  344. 2008Jocelyn Wildenstein's divorce was reported at $2.5 billion, and the judge barred her from spending alimony on surgeryatlantablackstar.com and 2 more
  345. 2008Formosa Plastics' founder died without a will, and his son sued to unwind $15 billion placed in Bermuda trustsInternet Archive and 3 more
  346. 2008Robert Mondavi was pushed out of his family's winery after a fight with his brother, sued, and wonwinespectator.com and 2 more
  347. 2008The Red Duchess of Medina Sidonia married her secretary on the day she died, and her children sued over the palace foundationBoletín Oficial del Estado and 5 more
  348. 2008Iceland exhumed Bobby Fischer to test a girl's paternity claim, and the DNA said noUPI and 4 more
  349. 2008Indonesia's Supreme Court ordered General Suharto's Supersemar foundation to pay about 4.4 trillion rupiahnews.detik.com and 4 more
  350. 2008George Carlin's estate sued a podcast over an AI-made comedy special and won its removalThe New York Times and 2 more
  351. 2008Paul Newman left his food company to a foundation run by his adviser, his daughter said the family was pushed out, and Congress changed the law for itCornell Law School, LII and 2 more
  352. 2008Deutsche Post's chief hid money in a Liechtenstein foundation, a bank clerk sold the data, and he was convicted in 2009Der Spiegel and 2 more
  353. 2008Badri Patarkatsishvili died in Surrey worth over $1 billion, a relative produced a copy of a will naming himself executor, and the widow called it a forgery in courts in five jurisdictionskommersant.ru and 11 more
  354. 2008Choi Jin-sil's ex-husband regained rights over her children the day she died, and a fan stole her ashes from her graveThe Korea Times and 6 more
  355. 2008Claus von Bülow was acquitted of trying to kill his wife, then gave up her fortune to settle her children's $56 million suitUPI and 2 more
  356. 2008Huntington Hartford had $90 million at 12, lost about $30 million on Paradise Island, and was found in a Brooklyn rental at 90washingtonexaminer.com and 1 more
  357. 2008Yves Saint Laurent signed a civil union days before he died, and his collection sale included two bronze heads looted from Beijing in 1860lalibre.be and 7 more
  358. 2008British and French troops looted the Summer Palace in 1860; Yves Saint Laurent's estate auctioned two of its bronze heads, and the winning bidder refused to payvisualizingcultures.mit.edu and 4 more
  359. 2008A son used his dying mother's power of attorney to move $10 million into a partnership and a charity trust a week before she died, and the Tax Court undid itcurrentfederaltaxdevelopments.com and 2 more
  360. 2008A UBS banker told the US how the bank hid Americans' money, went to prison for 31 months, and the IRS paid him $104 millioncsmonitor.com and 2 more
  361. 2008A Greek Muslim left everything to his wife by notarial will, his sisters invoked sharia, and Greek courts cut her to a quarterechrcaselaw.com and 3 more
  362. 2008Isaac Hayes lost his song royalties to a bank in bankruptcy; his heirs took one song back and sued Donald Trump over ittnwb.uscourts.gov and 4 more
  363. 2008Robert Rauschenberg's art trust grew from $605.6 million to $2.2 billion, and a Florida judge gave his three trustees $24.6 million in feesflprobatelitigation.com and 6 more
  364. 2008Michael Crichton's son was born after his death and left out of his will; in 2024 his estate sued Warner Bros., calling The Pitt an ER rebootNBC News and 5 more
  365. 2008Britney Spears's father ran her money for 13 years on $16,000 a month, a judge removed him, and she paid to end the fightNPR and 4 more
  366. 2008Bo Diddley's will gave his managers 30 percent of his songs forever, a judge let them sell the catalog to pay the IRS, and 22 heirs objectedfloridaprobatelawgroup.com and 2 more
  367. 2008Miriam Makeba's grandchildren fought her own trustees for her music, and the state paid their lawyers until the Public Protector ruled it unlawfulnews24.com and 4 more
  368. 2007Brooke Astor's son was convicted of looting her estate while she had Alzheimer'sNBC News and 2 more
  369. 2007The Gallo brothers raised their younger brother after their parents' murder-suicide, then sued him for using the family namelaw.resource.org and 2 more
  370. 2007Dow Jones's family owners split over Murdoch's $5 billion offer, and adviser fees helped decide the voteCNBC and 2 more
  371. 2007Two men took a Leonardo off the wall at Drumlanrig Castle, and the lawyers who arranged its return were tried for extortionThe Art Newspaper and 8 more
  372. 2007Rudolf-August Oetker's eight children from three marriages split the Dr. Oetker group in two in 2021wiwo.de and 5 more
  373. 2007The Winnie-the-Pooh rights holder sued Disney for 13 years, and lost because its investigator took Disney's trashthedailyrecord.com and 3 more
  374. 2007Isabella Blow's father left her £5,000, and after her death her estate put her McQueen wardrobe up for auctiontimeout.com and 3 more
  375. 2007Pavarotti left three wills, and his daughters challenged the share of his second wife until a 2008 settlementfoxnews.com and 3 more
  376. 2007Ike Turner wrote two handwritten wills and revoked one; a judge found he died with no valid willsandiegouniontribune.com and 1 more
  377. 2007Anna Nicole Smith's body went to her 5-month-old daughter's guardian after a Florida judge wept through the ruling, and DNA named the girl's fathercdn.ca9.uscourts.gov and 7 more
  378. 2007Leona Helmsley left $12 million in trust for her dog Trouble and nothing to 2 grandchildren, and a judge cut the dog's trust to $2 millionNBC News and 14 more
  379. 2007Nina Wang won her kidnapped husband's estate in Hong Kong's top court in 2005, then her feng shui adviser was jailed for forging her willlegalref.judiciary.hk and 8 more
  380. 2007Evel Knievel's family company sued Disney over Toy Story 4's Duke Caboom, and two federal courts held the toy daredevil transformed his likenessworldipreview.com and 7 more
  381. 2006James Brown left his fortune to educate poor children, and 15 years of lawsuits came before the estate sold for about $90 millionABA Journal and 3 more
  382. 2006Thieves stole the coffin of Friedrich Karl Flick, heir to a Nazi-era fortune, from his Austrian mausoleumsueddeutsche.de and 6 more
  383. 2006Chile's Supreme Court forfeited Pinochet's assets in 2018 after the US Senate exposed his Riggs Bank accountslatercera.com and 2 more
  384. 2006Stroessner's family wealth was never prosecuted, and human bones were found in his former house in 2019NBC News and 5 more
  385. 2006The Satmar Rebbe's will named his younger son successor; New York's highest court refused to decide which son controls the congregationCornell Law School, LII and 4 more
  386. 2006Saddam Hussein was buried in his own mausoleum, the mausoleum was destroyed, and no one will say where his body iskuwaittimes.com and 3 more
  387. 2006Muriel Spark left her entire estate to her companion Penelope Jardine and took steps to leave her only son nothingmanuscripts.nls.uk and 3 more
  388. 2005Sal. Oppenheim survived the Nazis under another name, then lost its independence over loans to the Karstadt heiressau.news.yahoo.com and 8 more
  389. 2005The last Korean imperial heir divorced his American wife after relatives pressed for a son, died in the Tokyo building where he was born, and was given an adopted son after his deathdonga.com and 3 more
  390. 2005Rafik Hariri was killed in 2005; his family chose the second son as political heir, the other brothers sold him their shares of Saudi Oger, and the company closed in 2017news.un.org and 4 more
  391. 2005The Rong family's mills passed to the state in the 1950s, and the son who stayed became China's vice president and his son a billionairevoanews.com and 4 more
  392. 2005Robert Kearns showed Ford his intermittent wiper, sued for decades, won about $30 million and lost his marriageDeseret News and 3 more
  393. 2005Lilly Cassirer gave up her Pissarro to the Nazis for an exit visa in 1939, and her heirs' suit against Spain's Thyssen museum went to decision in October 2026Cornell Law School, LII and 3 more
  394. 2005Rosa Parks left almost all her estate to her institute, her 13 nieces and nephews contested the will, and a 2007 settlement gave them 20 percentlaw.resource.org and 10 more
  395. 2005Zdzisław Beksiński was stabbed to death in his Warsaw flat in February 2005 by the 19-year-old son of his aide, after refusing a loankrakowpost.com and 4 more
  396. 2005Arthur Miller kept his son Daniel with Down syndrome out of public view and left him an equal share of the estate six weeks before he diedNPR and 3 more
  397. 2005Hunter S. Thompson's ashes were launched from a 15-story tower at his ranch in August 2005, and a lawsuit later put the cost at $3 million paid by Johnny Deppespn.com and 3 more
  398. 2005Johnny Carson's trust gave his foundation $156 million after his death, and no public accounting of his estate has appearedthesmokinggun.com and 3 more
  399. 2004Stieg Larsson's partner of 30 years got nothing from the Millennium fortune because they never marrieddagensps.se and 2 more
  400. 2004Dart Group's founder fired his son during his own divorce, then married on his deathbed and cut his children out of his willBloomberg and 3 more
  401. 2004The McCain brothers fought over which nephew would run their french fry empire, and one brother was removedInternet Archive and 2 more
  402. 2004The 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was strangled by his wife's brother in Cannes, and his heir died six months laterfrance24.com and 4 more
  403. 2004Portugal vetoed António Champalimaud's bank deal with Santander until Brussels overruled it for the first timeEuropean Commission and 10 more
  404. 2004Prince Bernhard denied a secret daughter to the Lockheed inquiry, then left her and a second one a sixth of his estate eachnos.nl and 4 more
  405. 2004Marlon Brando's $21.6 million will left out one child, and a son's girlfriend scattered part of his ashesLos Angeles Times and 1 more
  406. 2004Ray Charles gave each of his 12 children $500,000 and left the rest to a foundation; seven of them moved to take back his songsleagle.com and 3 more
  407. 2004Priyamvada Birla's will left a Rs 5,000 crore group to her accountant; the Birla family has fought it in court since 2004LiveLaw and 4 more
  408. 2004Polish colonel Ryszard Kukliński passed 40,000 pages to the CIA, was sentenced to death in absentia, and lost both sons within months in 1994eng.ipn.gov.pl and 2 more
  409. 2004A Qatari prince's letter said Nawaz Sharif's father had willed his Gulf profits to a grandson, and courts fought for six years over four Park Lane flatsoffshoreleaks.icij.org and 4 more
  410. 2004Melita Jackson left £486,000 to animal charities and nothing to the daughter who left home at 17, and the courts argued over the daughter's share for ten yearssupremecourt.uk and 3 more
  411. 2004The heir to the Santos docks fortune spent it all and died on a state pension in the Rio hotel his family built and soldThe Seattle Times and 2 more
  412. 2004Ol' Dirty Bastard died without a will; his widow sued the Wu-Tang Clan for royalties while his children said they had received nothingblackenterprise.com and 1 more
  413. 2004Dimebag Darrell was shot dead on stage with no will; his girlfriend of two decades was left out, later took over his estate's trust, and lost most of its suit against Dean Guitars in 2026blabbermouth.net and 4 more
  414. 2004Rick James's trust was sued for $50 million by a woman who says he raped her at 15 in a Buffalo group homebtpm.org and 4 more
  415. 2004Theo van Gogh was killed on an Amsterdam street on 2 November 2004, and Mohammed Bouyeri was sentenced to life without parole as a terroristAl Jazeera and 3 more
  416. 2003Margherita Agnelli sued her three children over her mother's estate, and Turin prosecutors charged her son John Elkann with tax fraudnews.bgov.com and 6 more
  417. 2003Strom Thurmond's family confirmed his Black daughter six months after his death, and South Carolina added her name to his monumentThe New York Times and 4 more
  418. 2003Anita Mui put her estate in a trust to keep it from her mother; the mother sued for 20 years, went bankrupt, and died in 2026 after Mui's ashes went missingtaipeitimes.com and 5 more
  419. 2003John Ritter's family collected $14 million in settlements, then lost a $67 million suit against two doctorstoday.com and 1 more
  420. 2003Alberto Sordi's sister left his €50 million to a foundation, relatives accused nine people of exploiting her, and all nine were acquittedIl Post and 2 more
  421. 2003Dayanidhi Maran alleged his brother took control of Sun TV while their father was in a coma, then withdrew the notice two months laternsearchives.nseindia.com and 2 more
  422. 2003Arnaud Lagardère inherited control of his father's group in 2003, lost it to Vivendi in 2023, and was charged with using company money to pay inheritance debtfortune.com and 2 more
  423. 2003Russia jailed Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky and auctioned his oil company for back taxes, and the Dutch Supreme Court made a $50 billion award to its shareholders finalyahoo.com and 2 more
  424. 2003Celia Cruz left everything to her husband; one of her executors sued the other for draining his money while he had dementiaCBS News and 4 more
  425. 2003Elliott Smith's partner sued his estate for lifetime support, and a talent-agent law voided their whole agreementdir.ca.gov and 2 more
  426. 2003Johnny Cash's trust sued Coca-Cola for using a tribute singer who sounds like himfox10phoenix.com and 2 more
  427. 2003Barry White never divorced the wife he separated from in 1988; she became his executor, and 2 of his children later sued her over stopped paymentsthegrio.com and 3 more
  428. 2003Nina Simone left most of her estate to a trust for African children; the California Attorney General said her daughter diverted it, and the daughter resigned and gave up the rightsoag.ca.gov and 5 more
  429. 2002Dhirubhai Ambani died without a will; one son became Asia's richest man and the other told a court he was worth zerotribuneindia.com and 3 more
  430. 2002A 19-year-old Pritzker heir sued her father and 11 cousins for raiding her trusts, and took about $450 millionInternet Archive and 2 more
  431. 2002Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza sued over his family's Bermuda trust and sold his collection to Spain for $350 millionForbes and 7 more
  432. 2002Freddy Heineken was kidnapped for 35 million guilders, and his only daughter inherited control of the brewerydigibron.nl and 8 more
  433. 2002Twins conceived after their father's death were denied his Social Security benefits by a unanimous Supreme CourtCornell Law School, LII and 2 more
  434. 2002Hall of Famer Mike Webster lived in his truck, died at 50, and his estate won his NFL disability pay after his deathThe New York Times and 3 more
  435. 2002A Jersey accountant sued to open Princess Margaret's sealed will to prove he was her secret sonThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 1 more
  436. 2002The Queen Mother left her estate to her daughter free of inheritance tax under a 1993 deal between the palace and the TreasuryGOV.UK and 2 more
  437. 2002South Africa's Constitutional Court made two Khayelitsha girls sole heirs of their father and struck down male primogeniture in 2004collections.concourt.org.za and 4 more
  438. 2002An orphanage trust sold its Mumbai plot for Antilia in 2002, the waqf board called the sale illegal, and the Bombay High Court dismissed the last challenge in 2025LiveLaw and 3 more
  439. 2002Ted Williams's will asked for his ashes to be scattered at sea, two of his children had him frozen in Arizona, and an ex-employee said his head was severedInternet Archive and 14 more
  440. 2002Layne Staley's mother was paid his Alice in Chains share for ten years, then sued his bandmates when they ended itblabbermouth.net and 3 more
  441. 2002John Entwistle's executors sold his guitars, his cars, his house and its last 700 lots within three years of his death; his ashes stayed in the groundsInternet Archive and 5 more
  442. 2001Hyundai's founder split his empire between feuding sons, and the heir he chose jumped from his office during a corruption probeKorea JoongAng Daily and 2 more
  443. 2001Daniel Wildenstein's widow said his sons hid the art fortune in trusts, and France prosecuted the heir for tax fraudArtnet News and 2 more
  444. 2001Lord Wraxall's will gave Tyntesfield to 19 relatives and ordered a fast sale, and the public raised millions to buy itBBC News and 4 more
  445. 2001The JCB founder's sons litigated in three countries over the company, then a cousin's £30 million fee claim failedThe National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 more
  446. 2001Japan's Supreme Court struck down the half-share rule for children born outside marriage in 2013, 18 years after upholding itcourts.go.jp and 2 more
  447. 2001Zhang Xueliang inherited his murdered father's Manchurian army in 1928 and spent more than 50 years in detentionlibrary.columbia.edu and 4 more
  448. 2001Dale Earnhardt's widow got Florida to seal his autopsy photos, and 18 states copied the lawNBC News and 3 more
  449. 2001Nepal's crown prince shot dead the king, the queen and seven relatives, and was king for three days while in a comaBBC News and 3 more
  450. 2001South Africa's Constitutional Court upheld the Valoyi community's choice of Tinyiko Shilubana as its first woman Hosi in 2008collections.concourt.org.za and 4 more
  451. 2001Gwalior's Rajmata disinherited her son and barred him from her last rites; the Scindia property fight ran 40 yearstheprint.in and 2 more
  452. 2001Shuji Nakamura was paid ¥20,000 for the blue LED patent, a Tokyo court awarded him ¥20 billion, and he settled for ¥840 millioncompoundsemiconductor.net and 2 more
  453. 2001A doctor patented a cell line from John Moore's spleen, and California's Supreme Court ruled that Moore did not own his cellsscocal.stanford.edu and 2 more
  454. 2001A hedge fund had Argentina's navy training ship held in Ghana for 11 weeks over defaulted bondsmaritime-executive.com and 3 more
  455. 2001A dying man in Luzhou left his savings and his ashes to the woman he lived with, and the court gave everything to his wifeInternet Archive and 2 more
  456. 2001Aaliyah's uncle owned her masters, and most of her music stayed off streaming for 20 years after her deaththefader.com and 3 more
  457. 2001George Harrison's estate sued his cancer doctor for making him sign a guitar two weeks before he diedfoxnews.com and 4 more
  458. 2001Anthony Quinn bought 29 acres on Rhodes in 1960, a Greek court cancelled the sale in 1984, and he died before he was repaidtovima.com and 4 more
  459. 2000Rome's last Doria Pamphilj princess adopted two English babies, and her daughter went to court to keep her brother's surrogate-born children out of the inheritanceadvocate.com and 6 more
  460. 2000René Favaloro, who developed coronary bypass surgery, shot himself after his foundation went unpaid by Argentina's health insurersAl Jazeera and 3 more
  461. 2000A Hong Kong buyer asked twice whether anything had happened in the flat; a boy had fallen to his death from its balconyvlex.hk and 3 more
  462. 2000Big Pun's widow sued Fat Joe for his posthumous royalties, saying payments stopped in 2005thesource.com and 4 more
  463. 2000Hedy Lamarr's adopted son sued in Florida in 2000 over a will that left him nothing from her $3.3 million estateUPI and 3 more