Academy Award-winning composer and accused serial sexual assaulter Joseph Brooks is even a jerk in death, it seems. In his recently read will he deliberately made no provisions for any of his four kids. But you know who he did leave $250,000 to? His 30-year-old personal trainer. more ›

Recently departed heiress/recluse/doll collector Huguette Clark left $34 million to her nurse, $14 million to her goddaughter, $500,000 each to her lawyer and accountant, and absolutely $0 to anyone in her family, it was reported yesterday. more ›

Queens woman Doris Schmitt has left her life savings of a quarter-million dollars to Harold Camping's Christian media company Family Radio; yes, the man who predicted the world would end on May 21st (and otherwise a complete stranger to Schmitt). The 78-year-old woman, a widow, died alone in her Rosedale home a year prior to the doomsday date of May 21st. more ›

Even in the immediate aftermath of James Brown's death in 2006, there were signs that there would be problems settling his accounts between his children and his estate. Now it's four-plus years later, and the fight has gotten messy. Thankfully, Brown's good friend, the Reverend Al Sharpton, has firmly inserted himself into the proceedings, making everything less much more complicated. more ›

A local Brooklyn resident tells us that the NYPD immediately reached out to the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals to get the Williamsburg dog who was thrown to the ground Wednesday night the veterinary care he needed. The resident contacted them in hopes of adopting the dog, who is now going by the name Will, and was told he is currently in intensive care but stable at a veterinary hospital. more ›

A beloved butler is now the envied recipient of two apartments in the exclusive Dakota building on West 72nd Street and Central Park West. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Indra B. Tamang, who grew up in a mud house in a farming village in Nepal, has reached a pinnacle of society after more than three decades of loyal service as a butler, cook and caretaker to a socially prominent American family." more ›

During the latest day in the trial of Anthony Marshall, the late philanthropist Brooke Astor's son, a lawyer who represented both son and mother testified that Marshall diligently crunched the numbers to calculate what his wife would get, in the case of his death. Because Astor despised daughter-in-law Charlene Marshall that she explicitly told lawyer-turned-witness Henry Christensen that she didn't want to leave anything to her. Christensen said that Anthony Marshall gave him a 2001 memo, titled, "Concern: My ability to provide sufficient financial assistance to Charlene upon my death after distributions and expenses, including taxes." But Christensen said that in spite that Charlene owned their $2 million apartment plus had a $1 million trust fund (that would earn $115,000/year in interest) set up by her husband, Marshall was "concerned she wasn't going to have anything." Marshall is accused of forging his mother's signature on a will and asking her to sign another will—while she was in mental decline—to give him $60 million meant for charitable groups. more ›

Rub the war criminal's belly three times and make a wish! Yes, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger took a little stumble this morning as he left the Manhattan State Supreme Court building. He had been testifying in the trial of Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall and his lawyer Francis Morrissey; the men are accused of looting Astor's fortune. more ›

The trial of Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall is a glimpse into high society. Well, a glimpse of high society amid accusations of elder abuse, swindling money from a senile woman, and more. The Post reports that one of the the prosecution's exhibits is "a remarkably detailed scale model of Brooke Astor's 16th-floor apartment overlooking Park Avenue at 72nd Street." The model's rooms appear to emulate the actual decoration of Astor's co-op, which is on the market for $29 million, including parquet-type floors and wallpaper. The Post adds, "You can almost smell the dog urine on the infamous Blue Room couch." more ›

The way a list of potential witnesses for the Brooke Astor estate trial reads, it might just be the trial of the century. Names include—for both the prosecution and defense—Henry Kissinger, Barbara Walters, David Rockefeller, Annette de La Renta, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, New York Public Library president Paul LeClerc, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. One potential juror told the Daily News, "If you bring Henry Kissinger and Kofi Annan and Barbara Walters in here, the whole thing is surreal." Prosecutors say that Astor's son Anthony Marshall tried to steal his mother's estate by forcing his senile mother to change her will. And Carter told the NY Times he regularly had lunch with the late philanthropist, "I assume they’re going to want to ask my opinion about what I thought her mental state was in the last 10 years of her life," and said of being on the list of luminaries, "I feel very privileged. I think it’s just an accident." more ›

A judge ruled that Leona Helmsley's multibillion dollar fortune can be distributed to a number of charities—and not just dog-related ones. The real estate mogul, who died in 2007, had wanted her $5-8 billion fortune to go to canine charities (she also left $12 million to her dog Trouble, but that was reduced to $2 million by a judge), but now The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust's trustees will be able to determine where the money goes. A statement from the trust notes, "In the hope that this would be the court's decision, the trustees have been diligently working to identify potential grantees so the Trust's funds would be put to optimal use as soon as possible in such areas as health care, medical research, human services, education, and various other areas." more ›

Following the death of Heath Ledger, his grieving family was questioned endlessly about the actor's will, which was written before his daughter Matilda was born. Now Ledger's father has publicly declared that every cent of the estimated $20 million estate (originally left to his sisters and parents) would go to Matilda, telling People magazine that was the plan "from the moment my boy passed away." Fox News notes that "Williams' father [Larry Williams, one of the world's best-known stock market traders] has previously challenged the grieving Ledger family to publicly state the value of their son's fortune." Meanwhile, TMZ is reporting that the ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, who wrote Heath Ledger's $10 million life insurance policy is in June of 2007, is "being sued after claiming the actor's death might have been a suicide, even though officials concluded it was accidental. Lawyers for Ledger's daughter say it's a transparent ploy to avoid paying the money." more ›

There's an update on the intriguing story of William Milliken Vanderbilt Kingsland, "a threadbare eccentric and an amateur genealogist of the Upper East Side" who died in 2006, only to leave behind a world of confusion. To sum up this UES Man of Mystery, the NY Times explains upon his death "it was discovered that his birth name was Melvyn Kohn, that he resided not on Fifth Avenue but in a small apartment on East 72nd Street, and that he had not — counter to his claims — attended Groton or Harvard, nor had he once been married to a French royal." However, along with the confusion came hundreds of works of art and no will. more ›

Since Leona Helmsley died last year at the age of 87, details of the Queen of Mean's will and wishes have caused chatter amongst those who knew and knew of her. Most notably, her dog, a Maltese named Trouble, was left a hefty $12 million...surely more than he can spend in his lifetime! The move led to death threats against the pup, who now has a security team that costs around $100K per year. She also mandated from the afterlife that her tomb be “acid-washed or steam-cleaned” once a year. more ›

An “insider” tells the Post that the late Heath Ledger’s ex Michelle Williams is furious with Ledger’s family over the management of his estate. Ledger’s 2003 will, made out before his daughter Matilda was born, bequeathed everything to his father, mother and siblings; Matilda is now considered the beneficiary, but according to the Post, Williams thinks Ledger’s dad Kim will blow his Dark Knight millions before Matilda reaches 18. (Ledger's uncles have claimed Kim Ledger mishandled their own father's estate.) Rumor has it that Williams is so upset that she’s going to boycott the Dark Knight premiere on July 14th. more ›

Word on Heath Ledger's will has hit the newswire, and according to documents filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, he had less than $145,000 in New York assets when he died on January 22nd. The figure includes about $100,000 in bank accounts, a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures. more ›

Anthony Marshall, the son of the late Brooke Astor, might have chosen a different lawyer if he suspected that he'd be eventually accused of looting his mother's estate. Or perhaps Francis X. Morrissey was the perfect man for the job. Papers are reporting today that Marshall's lawyer has a long history of profiting from soon-to-be-deceased clients. He was in court yesterday, arriving handcuffed, but leaving free on bail.It would seem to be the darkest moment... more ›

Being heir to $12 million can be a real dog. Especially if you're Trouble Helmsley, the cherished Maltese owned by the late real estate developer Leona Helmsley. "Queen of Mean" Helmsley shocked people from the grave by leaving $12 million to the pooch, which was more than what her grandchildren (combined) inherited. Helmsley's friend John Codey, who oversees Helmsley's trust, reveals that there have been many death threats: "We received any number of threats to... more ›

New York magazine has an extraordinary cover story on the life of Brooke Astor, months after the "doyenne" of the city's social scene passed away. It is a sordid tale of jealousy, greed, enmity, conflicting agendas, and familial conflict worthy of the most outlandish soap opera. Her son Tony is now under i investigation by a grand jury and control of her estate has passed to Astor's friend Annette de la Renta. The litany of... more ›