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Talk show host Larry King always got to the point in his show — and that was no different with his last will and testament, which shut his soon-to-be ex-wife of 22 years out of his $2 million estate.
Shawn King, who he was in the middle of divorcing, is now contesting that document.
The pair filed for divorce in August 2019. Two months later, King allegedly handwrote a will requesting 100% of his assets be divided equally among his five children. It did not mention Shawn at all.
Shawn thinks someone pressured her husband to write it, according to a Page Six report, but did not elaborate.
“We had a very watertight family estate plan,” she said in the Page Six article. “It still exists, and it is the legitimate will. Period. And I fully believe it will hold up.” She said they wrote the plan together in 2015. The pair’s divorce had not yet been finalized at the time of his death.
See: Yes, it’s possible to update your will while quarantined
His estate proceedings are even more complicated now, however. The latest will also includes two of his children who died last year. Shawn was his seventh wife.
His son, Larry Jr., has asked to be appointed the estate’s administrator, TMZ reported. His net worth was estimated at $144 million, according to TMZ. His estate, worth roughly $2 million, would not reflect any assets that were held in trusts. King, 87, reportedly died from COVID-19, but Shawn said an infection called sepsis was the actual cause of death, according to Entertainment Tonight.
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This is not the first time celebrities’ estate planning has proven messy. Chadwick Boseman, star of “Black Panther,” didn’t have a will when he died in 2020, as is the case for many Americans (including late performer Prince). Comparatively, even when there is a will, it can be complicated, as was the case for John Mahoney, who played the dad in “Frasier,” when he had a list of 38 beneficiaries at his death in 2018.
Estate planning can be tedious when there are so many assets at stake, but the process is still necessary — regardless of how high or low an individual’s net worth may be. There are crucial documents most Americans should have, including a will, to state where they’d like their money and belongings to go; a power of attorney, to designate someone responsible to follow through on last wishes; and a healthcare proxy to direct how their medical care should proceed in the event of incapacity.
