Robin Williams' Widow And Children In Bitter Court Battle Over Late Comedian's £30 Million Fortune

Robin Williams' Widow And Children In Bitter Court Battle Over Late Comedian's £30 Million Fortune
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Robin Williams' widow and children have gone to court in a dispute over the late comedian's $45 million (£30 million) fortune.

Susan Schneider Williams, the comedian's third wife, has filed a lawsuit against his three children from previous marriages - Zak, 31, Zelda, 25, and Cody Williams, 22 - in a disagreement over property left in his will.

Robin, 63, committed suicide at his northern California home last August.

The Mrs Doubtfire star had been struggling with depression, anxiety and a recent Parkinson's disease diagnosis when his personal assistant found him dead.

According to news reports, Robin stipulated in his will how he wanted his fortune to be split up, but his widow is now formally contesting the will.

In papers filed in December at San Francisco Superior Court, Susan has asked the court to exclude the contents of the $7 million home that she shared with her husband, including any jewellery, memorabilia and other items he wanted the children to have.

She argues that as her husband wanted her to stay at their marital home in Tiburon, north of San Francisco, it follows that he intended only for his children to have items he kept at another home he owned in Napa, California.

Her lawyers wrote: "Any other interpretation would lead to Mrs Williams' home being stripped while Mrs Williams still lives there."

Robin's trust granted his children his memorabilia and awards from his 40-year career in the entertainment industry, including his 1998 Oscar for the movie Good Will Hunting, six Golden Globes, two Emmys and five Grammys

Zak, Zelda and Cody argue that Susan, who has two teenage sons of her own, is attempting to redefine her late husband's will.

They claim she is trying to 'redefine the word jewellery' to keep a watch that belonged to their father.

In court documents, they also her of attempting to ignore the 'plain language of his will and trust', and underscored their feelings by mentioning that she was married to the actor for 'less than three years'.

They wrote that they were 'heartbroken' over her 'greed' and that Susan has 'acted against his wishes by challenging the plans he so carefully made for his estate' and are 'adding insult to a terrible injury'.

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