People: Two sides to meet over Williams’ estate
The wife of Robin Williams and his children have agreed to meet next week to discuss how they can resolve disagreements over the late actor’s estate.
At a hearing Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, attorneys for both sides argued for resolution of the case after months of dispute. If both sides can’t agree on their own, lawyers will return to court and ask the judge to intervene.
The judge could dismiss the case and ask that it be refiled, said attorney James Wagstaffe, who represents Susan Schneider Williams. The judge could also grant Schneider Williams’ request for an evidentiary hearing so that the late actor’s wishes could be heard in court, he said. Williams committed suicide last year.
The latest dispute in the saga was over how much Schneider Williams would receive to maintain the Tiburon property, where she and her late husband lived.
According to her attorneys, Williams asked that she be allowed to continue living at their home and expenses associated with maintaining the property be paid. Ownership of the property would be transferred to the comedian’s three children and her own two children after she dies.
Cody, Zelda and Zachary Williams argued in court documents filed Aug. 14 that their stepmother was seeking more money and a guaranteed income stream. They asserted Schneider Williams was “seeking to increase her share of the trust assets at the expense of the Williams children.”
The parties have been working to resolve the estate’s issues, but the talks have been at a stalemate, according to court documents. Schneider Williams has said she hasn’t received any income from a trust Williams created for her to pay her living expenses, and that some personal items of sentimental value are under dispute.
She is asking that all property inside the home, including art and furniture, remain in her trust.
The birthday bunch
Japanese monster movie actor Katsumi Tezuka is 103. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson is 80. Singer Van Morrison is 70. Actor Richard Gere is 66. Rhythm-and-blues musician Larry Waddell (Mint Condition) is 52. Actor Chris Tucker is 43.