Larry King's handwritten 2019 will left his estate to five children, two of whom died before him, and his estranged wife Shawn contested it

Larry King married Shawn Southwick in 1997 and filed for divorce in August 2019. On 17 October 2019 he wrote a will by hand, stating it "should replace all previous writings," that divided his funds equally among his five children: Andy, Chaia, Larry Jr., Chance and Cannon. Andy and Chaia died within weeks of each other in 2020. King died in Los Angeles on 23 January 2021, aged 87, with the divorce unfinished. On 10 February 2021 Larry King Jr. asked Los Angeles Superior Court to appoint him special administrator of the estate, valued at about $2 million, not counting assets held in trusts. He claimed "a clear statutory priority" because his father and Shawn were separated and divorcing. Shawn objected. She argued that the handwritten will could not replace King's 2015 will, which named her executor and sole trustee of the King Family Trust, and that King had let the divorce case stall. She also alleged that Larry Jr. had exerted undue influence over his father. In April 2021 she petitioned to enforce the 2015 will. She later reached a confidential settlement with King's children. In October 2022 she filed a $100 million suit against King's business managers, Blouin & Company, alleging they conspired with King to move millions of dollars of community property, including through secret bank accounts, without her knowledge. The suit also named her sister, Shannon Engemann, over an alleged affair with King; both denied it. The court dismissed her claims against King's producer Greg Christensen. Shawn and Blouin reached terms at a mediation on 21 May 2024 and told the court they expected to file mutual dismissals with prejudice. The terms were not disclosed. Status: no pending court case over the estate found as of October 2026.