This post is a continuation of our last two posts discussing the problems of the heirs of Walt Disney. Disney's daughter passed away, leaving her assets to her three children. The probate issues that have come up recently involve her two children (twins, age 40) with her second husband. When the daughter had a health care crisis, the father wanted her moved from her home in California to be near him in Arizona. Her family and friends strenuously objected, and when the daughter recovered, she had her father replaced as a trustee.

Both the daughter and the son receive annual incomes from trusts. Each is also entitled to a disbursement at age 35, 40 and 45, but only under certain circumstances. One of the conditions is that the four trustees determine, by majority vote, that the children are "competent" to receive the disbursements. Each disbursement is estimated to be around $20 million per child. A great deal of money is at stake here.

With the daughter's situation resolved, the son became the focus of concern. Unlike the daughter, the son lived close to his father. In fact, he lived next door, with a stepsister and her family. Alerted by the father's interference with the daughter's affairs, other members of the family wanted to know if the brother was living there by choice, or if he was being isolated, held as a "virtual captive" whose money was funding the lifestyles of his relatives.

The family petitioned the probate court to have the son's situation assessed by an independent guardian. In the court documents, they included information about the son's petition a few years earlier, when he asked the court to appoint his father and stepmother as guardians because he had a developmental disability. He withdrew the petition before the court could act.

Continued in our next post.

Resource: AZCentral.com "In the Valley, Heirs Embroiled in Disney Feud" 10/08/10