It Doesn’t Look Good For Girlfriend in Thomas Kinkade Will Dispute
Nanette Kinkade, Thomas’s wife, presents a 2000 will that left an estimated $12.48 million worth of assets to a living trust to provide for the couple’s four daughters. Pinto submits two handwritten documents that collectively leave $66.3 million worth of assets to her. The handwritten wills could qualify as holographic wills. If the court deems them valid holographic wills, then Nanette will likely contest those wills either on the grounds of undue influence or lack of capacity. The handwriting on the wills is so illegible, that either one of those theories might be plausible.
Even if the Court considers the wills to be valid, one of them refers to $10 million in proceeds from a life insurance policy. This kind of asset passes to the beneficiary named on the policy as opposed to through a will or a trust. Pinto is not the named beneficiary of this policy. In addition, one of the assets mentioned in the holographic wills is a house and the adjacent building. Since California is a community property state, and Nanette and Kinkade had not completed their divorce before he died, Pinto may have run into another problem with the house actually passing to her. However, there is a chance she could keep the house because Nanette and Kinkade filed a stipulation with their separation that transferred the title of the house to Thomas in exchange for paying $1.2 million to Nanette.
The will contest is pending and the probate court set a hearing on September 17 to determine whether Pinto has to move out of the house or pay rent. These battles re-emphasize how important it is to change your will and beneficiaries on insurance policies immediately after a separation. Do not wait until the divorce is finalized. If you die before the divorce is finalized without changing your insurance poiicy beneficiaries or your will, it is possible that your soon to be ex-spouse will get more than you would like to leave him or her.
See Deborah L. Jacobs, In Battle for Thomas Kinkade Estate, Girlfriend Doesn’t Have A Prayer, Forbes, Aug. 22, 2012.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this to my attention.