Leona 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 million

Leona Helmsley, a hotel operator and real estate investor, was convicted of federal income tax evasion in 1989. She died of congestive heart failure on 20 August 2007 at Dunnellen Hall, her home in Greenwich, Connecticut, aged 87. Her will, made public in Manhattan Surrogate's Court on 28 August 2007, left $12 million in trust for her Maltese dog, Trouble, and directed that Trouble be buried next to her in the Helmsley mausoleum, with $3 million for its upkeep. It left $5 million each to 2 grandchildren on condition that they visit their father's grave once each calendar year. It left nothing to 2 other grandchildren, Craig Panzirer and Meegan Panzirer, "for reasons which are known to them." The rest went to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Craig and Meegan sued, contending that she lacked the mental capacity to make a will. In a settlement approved by the New York Attorney General's office, Manhattan Surrogate Renee Roth on 30 April 2008 cut Trouble's trust to $2 million and sent the other $10 million to the charitable trust. The New York Post reported that Craig received $4 million and Meegan $2 million. A 2004 mission statement had directed the trust to the care of dogs and "such other charitable activities as the trustees shall determine." On 19 February 2009 Surrogate Troy Webber ruled that the trustees had sole discretion over which charities to fund. Trouble lived in Sarasota, Florida, cared for by the general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle hotel, and died on 13 December 2010, aged 12. A Sleepy Hollow Cemetery board member said pets cannot be buried there, and Trouble was cremated. What remained of her money went to the trust. The trust's website reports an $8 billion endowment and lists 6 focus areas: Crohn's disease, Israel, rural healthcare, type 1 diabetes, vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa and New York City.