Tom Wolfe’s Wife of Years to Inherit Majority of His Estate

Author Tom Wolfe passed away last month of an unidentified infection in New York City and his will was filed in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court on Thursday. The 12-page document revealed that the writer left all of his personal property to his wife of 40 years, Sheila, as well as “all my right, title and interest to any real property and any cooperative apartment used by me or my family as a residence…” He left the interests to his books to his two adult children, Alexandra and Tommy.

“While there isn’t an extensive breakdown of how much Wolfe was worth, probate paperwork indicates that his estate is valued north of $500,000.” Wolfe’s will also directed that he desired to be cremated.

Wolfe was a writer that captured the essence of the culture of America for 50 years, writing such books as The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Right Stuff, and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

See Ariel Zilber, Tom Wolfe’s Will Reveals He Left the Bulk of His Fortune to Hife Wife of Years and Asked to be Cremated, Daily Mail, June 14, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.