Judge Rules Glen Campbell’s Children Can Contest His Wills
A judge in Tennessee has ruled that three of Glen Campbell's children can dispute the validity of wills that excluded them from inheriting any money after Campbell died.
Nashville's Tennessean newspaper reports that Davidson Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy issued a three-page ruling in Nashville this week, concluding that the three adult children have standing to contest two wills dated Sept. 1, 2006, and Jan. 7, 2001.
Travis, Kelli and Wesley Campbell are Campbell's children from his marriage to his second wife, Billie Jean Nunley, which ended in divorce in 1976. They petitioned the court to certify that a contest to the wills existed. Kennedy's ruling notes that they plan to contest the late country legend's capacity to agree to the wills, and they charge that he was subject to undue influence.
Campbell revealed his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2011, but it's unknown how long he might have been struggling with the disease prior to that. Campbell's fourth wife, Kimberly Campbell, was married to the singer from 1982 until his death on Aug. 7, 2017, and she filed the 2006 will, which named her and five of Campbell's other children as his beneficiaries. She is also the executor of his estate, and she recently filed that she would not challenge Campbell's children's right to contest the wills. Kennedy's decision notes that there was no opposition.
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Another of Campbell's daughters, Debbie Campbell-Cloyd, is asking for a full accounting from Stanley B. Schneider, Campbell's former publicist and manager, who's been serving as a temporary administrator of Campbell's estate. She wants a full accounting for payments the estate has made, as well as a bank account where the royalties from Campbell's music have been deposited. Campbell-Cloyd claims the royalties should have been deposited into an account controlled by Campbell's estate, but have instead been deposited into an account controlled by Glen and Kimberly Campbell, even after the singer's death. Court filings show that Schneider had power of attorney over that account, according to the Tennessean.
The new ruling comes three months after Schneider filed a four-page document in probate court estimating the value of Campbell's estate at $410,221, a far cry from initial press reports after the singer's death that claimed he had assets worth closer to $50 million.
Kim Campbell has also filed a claim asking for more than half a million dollars in reimbursement from the estate to cover the cost of Campbell's medical care.
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