Phil Spector died in prison serving a murder sentence; his daughter sued his ex-wife, alleging she posed as the daughter to sell his memorabilia

Phil Spector was convicted in 2009 of the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson and sentenced to 19 years to life. He died in custody at 81; his daughter Nicole said the cause was Covid-19. His first legal fight over money was with his former wife, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. The Ronettes sued his label Philles Records in 1987 for unpaid royalties. In 2002 New York's Court of Appeals limited what they could collect but held that the release Ronnie signed in their 1970s divorce did not end her right to royalties. In 2006 Spector married Rachelle Short while awaiting trial. Their December 2018 divorce settlement gave him the John Lennon guitar, Elvis Presley's diamond cufflinks, his Grammys and his master tapes, and ordered his Alhambra "castle" sold. His 2016 trust named Nicole, his only biological child, sole trustee and left out his adopted sons and his ex-wife. In February 2021 she petitioned a Los Angeles court for control of the estate; Lana Clarkson's mother was listed as an interested party. In May 2023 Nicole sued Julien's Auctions to stop a sale of 82 items, and a Torrance judge blocked it. On 30 June 2023 she added Rachelle as a defendant, alleging conversion and saying she believed Rachelle had posed as her to sell the items. Rachelle swore the items were hers or had been left behind by Nicole. Julien's settled in November 2023. Ronnie Spector died in January 2022. No ruling on the claims against Rachelle was found^†.