The Two Wills of Thomas Kinkade

As I previously blogged, the fate of Thomas Kinkade’s estate comes down to two wills that are barely legible. A judge will look at the wills next month, but until then, each side’s lawyer chimes in. Kinkade’s girlfriend, Amy Pinto-Walsh is trying to prove that these wills are valid so she can walk away with a large amount of money. her lawyer is confident that Kinkade was of sound mind and body when he wrote the wills and that Kinkade’s estranged wife will have to prove the contrary. Even if Kinkade was under the influence, he could still easily have capacity to write the will. California law is clear on the issue of alcoholics still having mental capacity. 

The lawyer representing Kinkade’s estate argues that the shaky handwriting on the wills speaks volumes about how Kinkade was lacking capacity when he wrote them and is confident that the wills will not hold up in court. 

A handwriting expert who has looked at the wills notes how shaky the writing is, and how the letters were not in fluid form. The expert thinks the writing came from the same writer, but each will represents a different state of mind. If there was alcohol in Kinkade’s system, the expert speculates that there was less alcohol in his system when he wrote the first letter. 

See Julia Prodis Sulek, Validity of Wills at Center of Dispute Over Artist Thomas Kinkade’s Estate, The Sacramento Bee, June 19, 2012.