What Caused the Williams Estate Battle Despite His Careful Planning?

As I have previously discussed, a battle has erupted regarding trust terms between the widow of Robin Williams, Susan Schneider Williams, and Williams' children from previous marriages. The lawsuit is surprising considering Williams seemed to follow many estate planning  'dos', such as discussing his plan with his family, leaving his estate in trusts, and having a prenuptial agreement with his third wife. One possible explanation for the family feud despite Williams' careful estate planning may be that the trust left some ambiguity to personal property that is considered celebrity memorabilia. These items carry both high sentimental and financial value, and seem to be at the center of the suit.

See Helaine Olen, Robin Williams' Family is Like Yours, Slate, Feb. 4, 2015.

Special thanks to Joseph Mcnulty (Texas Tech University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.