Shawn King is ‘likely’ to win in court

The battle for Larry King’s estate is on. The famous broadcaster’s wife, Shawn King, disputes a secret will that leaves her estimated $ 2 million estate to her children – and a legal expert says she has a good chance of winning.

Shawn went to court to oppose stepson Larry King Jr.’s emergency petition to become a special administrator of the estate. Earlier this month, Larry Jr. submitted a handwritten will, known as the holographic will, from his father dated October 17, 2019 who left his estate to his five children. The former CNN host died in January after contracting sepsis.

According to the objection filed Tuesday, by the Los Angeles TimesShawn’s attorneys say the holograph will may have been drafted under questionable circumstances. Peter Walzer, founding partner of Walzer Melcher Family Law, told Yahoo Entertainment they likely had a strong case for this argument.

“It will be argued that Larry did not have the ability to write a will. The fact that he wrote the will by hand, combined with his possibly diminished ability, might suggest that he did not know what was going on. he was doing, “Walzer says. “A man of Larry’s wealth and experience would usually retain a lawyer to prepare an estate plan that would include a trust.”

Larry has struggled with several health issues over the years. In March 2019, he suffered a stroke and was in a coma for weeks. A month later, he underwent heart surgery. Larry was hospitalized for COVID-19 before his death.

The temperature got the handwritten note, which read, “This is my last will. It should replace all previous writings. In the event of death, any day after the above date, I want 100% of my funds distributed also between my children Andy, Chaia, Larry Jr Chance & Cannon. “(Chance and Cannon are the two sons Larry shares with Shawn. Larry’s daughter, Chaia, and son, Andy, died a few weeks later. ‘interval last year.)

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“The holographic will is suspect. It is likely that the will will be rejected,” Walzer told Yahoo. “Most people don’t write their wills with their own hands.”

Larry filed for divorce from Shawn, his seventh wife whom he married in 1997, for the second time in August 2019. (They both dropped the divorce applications in 2010.) Their divorce was not final when Larry is dead.

“Larry was not asking for a divorce and was generally unresponsive and refused to participate in the divorce proceedings,” one reads Shawn’s objection, obtained by The temperature. “He did not indicate that he actually wanted to file for divorce (other than the initial filing of the dissolution petition). Although he has the right to seek trial preference due to his age, he did not make use of that option and allowed the dissolution proceedings, which were filed in August 2019, to languish. “

Larry Jr. argues in his case that the estranged couple “were actively involved in the ongoing dissolution proceedings” and “had resided apart from each other since 2019, and were living apart at the time of Mr King’s death. “.

Walzer believes that while the divorce was ongoing, “it is not enough to indicate that he intended to disinherit his wife.”

Two other postnuptial agreements were put in place, according to Shawn, limiting his ability to make testamentary gifts to his children. The holograph will violate the terms of these agreements. According to Walzer, this is a big problem.

“A valid postnuptial agreement would take precedence over a will. Because of the fiduciary obligations between husband and wife, a post-marriage agreement would require review, full disclosure and lawyers for the parties, ”he explains.

In the opinion of the experts at Walzer, it is “unlikely that the holography will be maintained”.

“It’s likely Shawn will inherit Larry’s estate,” he says.

A hearing date has been set for March 25.

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