Gore Vidal changed his trust in 2011 to leave everything to Harvard, and his half-sister and nephew sued

Gore Vidal's original will left everything to Howard Austen, his partner of 53 years, who died in 2003. In 2011 Vidal amended his trust to name Harvard University sole heir, though he never attended it. He died the next year in a bed in his living room. His half-sister, Nina Straight, estimated the bequest at $37 million. The trustee would not confirm that figure, and a later account put it at more than $30 million. Straight sued, saying Vidal was not competent when he signed the 2011 change, and sought $1 million she said he owed her and the Hollywood house for her son. She dropped the suit as legal fees rose. Her son, the director Burr Steers, filed his own challenge, alleging Vidal had "wet brain." He also asked a Los Angeles judge to remove the trustee, Andrew Auchincloss. The court did not remove Auchincloss, and Steers reportedly lost his claim to the house for filing five days after California's 60-day deadline. The family settled in 2015 on confidential terms. As of 2015 Vidal's ashes had not been interred at the Rock Creek Cemetery plot he reserved in Washington; their 2026 location is not confirmed^†.