Vanessa Bryant Files to Add Infant Daughter to Kobe's Trust

Kobe Bryant had set up a trust before his untimely death to provide for his widow, Vanessa, and their daughters, one of which perished alongside him in a helicopter crash in January. The trust was created in 2003 and amended several times, the last in 2017. The couple's most recent child, Capri, was born in 2019. Vanessa has filed to amend the problem, requesting that the infant daughter be added to the trust.

The trust agreement is reportedly set up to allow Vanessa and her daughters to draw from the principal and income during Vanessa’s lifetime, with the remainder going to the children upon Vanessa’s death. The widow is arguing that according to the trust document, Kobe's intent was to provide for all their children. The other two surviving children of the couple are Natalia, 16, and Bianka, 2.

Vanessa has also filed a lawsuit against the helicopter company that owned the vehicle in which her husband and daughter died and has demanded the deletion of reported graphic photos taken and distributed by deputies through her lawyer.

See Jack Baer, Report: Vanessa Bryant Files to Add Infant Daughter to Kobe's Trust, Yahoo Sports, March 19, 2020; see also Ralph R. Ortega, Kobe Bryant's Widow Seeks to Amend His Trust to Include Daughter Capri, Daily Mail, March 18, 2020.

Special thanks to Jim Hartnett, Jr. (Dallas, Texas Probate Attorney) and Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing these articles to my attention.