Raymond Burr left everything to his partner Robert Benevides, and a judge threw out his niece's claim of undue influence in 1994

Raymond Burr died of cancer on his 40-acre ranch near Healdsburg on 12 September 1993, aged 76. His last will, dated 20 April 1991, left everything to Robert Benevides, his companion of about 30 years, and nothing to his sister, nieces or nephews. Two earlier wills also left everything to Benevides. A 1974 will left $5,000 to his brother James, but James died in 1975 and the gift lapsed. Tabloids put the estate at $30 million; lawyers on both sides said it was "nowhere near" that. Most of it sat in a private trust outside probate, and the probate estate held about $100,000 in Perry Mason residuals, against which creditors filed more than $1.6 million in claims. Minerva Burr, 30, of Palmdale, a daughter of James, sued in 1994, alleging undue influence by Benevides. Her mother said Burr had promised to provide for the family, and relatives said a fifth will existed that was never found. On 13 October 1994 Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Lloyd von der Mehden granted Benevides summary judgment, ruling she had no standing and no evidence. In life Burr had claimed a wife killed in a 1943 air crash and a son who died of leukemia; no record of either has been found. He is buried in Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, British Columbia. Benevides renamed the vineyard Raymond Burr Vineyards and died on 9 April 2024^†. The winery still sells wine under Burr's name.