The estate feud between the children and widow of late country music star Glen Campbell continues over his will, which excluded three out of his eight children.
Campbell, who rose to fame with hits like Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman, died August 8, 2017 after a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s.
A year later, the battle continues for Campbell’s estate – which was initially estimated to be $50 million but is now valued at $410,000.
Stanley B. Schneider the star’s accountant and manager, has filed a four-page document in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville that places the estimated value of Campbell’s estate at $410,221, a far cry from initial press reports after the singer’s death that listed assets closer to $50 million.
The judged appointed Schneider as administrator ad litem of Campbell’s estate in February. His inventory of Campbell’s assets includes two bank accounts containing a combined total of $959. The largest single asset listed is a 50 percent stake in the AZPB Limited Partnership, valued $296,164. He also lists a 50 percent interest in the AZ Baseball Broadcast Holdings at $3,464. That appears related to Campbell’s previously reported ownership interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Glen Campbell Music Inc. is valued at $25,110 in the filing, and Glen Campbell Enterprises is listed at $84,524. Campbell was the sole owner of both of those companies.
Schneider is also in charge of tracking ongoing royalties paid to the estate, and he listed $42,448 in royalty payments between Aug. 8 and April 20, with $76,000 in royalties still owed to the estate. Checks totaling $1,776 were awaiting deposit at the time of his filing, and a payment of $14,246 is expected as a settlement on an insurance claim stemming from water damage to a California property Campbell owned.
Schneider listed debts of $118,200, including an estimated $107,000 in state and federal income taxes and $71,000 in legal fees. His estimate of Campbell’s assets does not include future income from royalties, saying, “Appraisal needed.”
As part of the papers filed with the court, Schneider wants expanded duties so that he can hire accountants and experts to estimate the future value of royalties from Campbell’s music and that the battle over Campbell’s will has only further prevented him from ‘any typical estate administration activities’.
Campbell’s will was written in September 2006, more than five years before he announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
It stipulates that all three of his children from his second marriage to Billie Jean Nunley, which ended in 1976, were not to benefit from his estate or any resulting trust.
Those children are 56-year-old Kelli, 51-year-old Travis and 48-year-old Kane.
His widow, Kim Campbell, says she had nothing to do with the decision to cut the three children out of his will.
“That was all done in 2002, and that was a choice that was made by Glen — not me — and there were reasons for it,” she said.
Campbell had five more children from three other wives. He had eldest daughter Debby Campbell-Cloyd, 61, with his first wife Diane Kirk, 37-year-old Dillon with his third wife Sarah Barg, and three kids with his fourth wife Kimberly Woollen – Cal, 34, Shannon, 32, and 30-year-old Ashley.
Kim stayed with Campbell until the end and is named as the executor of his will. It gives no explanation as to why three of the children were cut out.
However, Travis and his older half-sister Debby did file a lawsuit in 2015 when they said Kim had kept them from seeing their father for more than a year.
At that point, Kim had moved her husband to a long-term care facility so he could get round-the-clock attention for his Alzheimer’s.
The brother and sister won their legal battle a year later, and Tennessee has since passed a law inspired by the case, which protects family members’ rights to see their loved ones who suffer from diseases similar to Alzheimer’s.
Previously, the primary family member in charge of the sufferer was allowed to dictate who could and couldn’t get visitation.
The battle clearly caused a rift in the family, with Campbell’s youngest daughter Ashley taking to Facebook to defend her mother at one point.
‘My mother Kim has endured unspeakable heartache and has selflessly and lovingly cared for my dad through every step of his disease and continues to do so,’ she wrote.
‘She has never denied any of his children a visit, including Debby and Travis who see him regularly yet continue to spread malicious lies about her. They have visitation rights, so what else do they want? One answer: the limelight.’
The will also says that Campbell has real estate holdings outside of Nashville – where he was living at the time of his death.
Half of the fortune is expected to be put into a trust.
Campbell announced his diagnosis in 2011, and in 2014 released a film that chronicled his descent into Alzheimer’s called Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me.
Two days before his death, he released his final album, Adios, which was nominated posthumously for a Grammy.
When considering your own estate planning, remember that in Queensland, the law casts an obligation upon a will maker to make adequate provision for certain persons. In Queensland, a willmaker ought to make adequate provision for the following persons:
- Spouse;
- Former spouse (in limited circumstances);
- Child;
- Step-child;
- A dependent (in limited circumstances).
For advice on how to write your will and avoid an estate feud, contact our specialist team today. We offer a FREE, 10-minute phone consultation.