Although Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away on Sunday, after spending nearly seven months in a coma, there are still many questions surrounding her tragic death left unanswered.
One being, who will control Whitney Houston’s estate, which she left to her daughter in a trust in her will? Will it be her grieving father, Bobby Brown? He maintained a vigil at her bedside as she lay in a medically induced coma for months in Atlanta hospitals and a hospice.
Or will it be her maternal family, led by grandmother Cissy Houston and her aunt, Pat Houston, who also campaigned to find out what really happened to their loved one? To date, they’ve controlled the majority of the 22-year-old’s money under the terms of the late singer’s will.
One thing is for sure… we anticipate there will be plenty of litigation.
Attorney Mina Sirkin shared her thoughts on the issue with “E! News,” “She [Whitney Houston] left 10 percent of her estate to her daughter at the age of 21 but her daughter didn’t reach the age of 30 when she would have received all of it. So 90 percent of the estate of Whitney Houston will now pass to her parents, her siblings, and potentially even to her ex-husband. This could get very messy if Bobbi Kristina was married to Nick Gordon.”
Despite claims by the former couple, Bobby Brown revealed that his daughter never married Gordon.
An attorney for Houston, David Long, released a statement for her saying at the time that the guardianship case was a “family matter” and would not be discussed publicly. “We hope to resolve this in a manner that is respectful of Bobbi Kristina’s sensitive health information,” the statement said. “The Houston family has always looked out for the best interest of Bobbi Kristina Brown. … We trust that others have the same objective.”
Only it appears that things may get more complicated since there are now two different parts of Whitney’s estate — the 10 percent that her late daughter already inherited and the 90 percent she was set to receive at the age of 30.
When Houston died in 2012, her estate, estimated at $20 million, was left to her only child, Bobbi Kristina. Although Houston amended her will in April 2000, after she originally drafted it in 1993, Bobbi Kristina was to inherit everything, including Houston’s money, furniture, clothing, cars, and the townhouse in Roswell, Georgia, where she had been living.
The estate was placed in a trust until Bobbi Kristina turned 21, on March 4, 2014. At that time, she received 10 percent of the estate, or about $2 million. The will dictated that she was to get another sixth of the estate when she turned 25, and the rest at age 30.
While inheritance laws differ from state to state, it is likely that the terms of Houston’s will, will trump all state laws unless the terms are disputed in court.
