Heiress Huguette Clark's Second Will Invokes Battle Between Family and Executors
Heiress Huguette Clark signed a will leaving her $400 million estate to her family, then signed a separate one leaving them nothing just weeks later.
Her father, William A. Clark, through a Montana copper mining company, made the fortune.
The wills have sparked a contentious battle between relatives and Huguette Clark's lawyer and accountant.
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Relatives of Clark accuse lawyer Wallace Bock and accountant Irving Kamsler of stealing her fortune. The two were just a few of the people allowed to see Clark in the hospital room where she lived for decades before her death.
“They took control of her life, isolated her from family, and ultimately stripped her of her free will, as well as millions of dollars,” claimed relatives in court papers.
The first will was signed March 7, 2005. It leaves $5 million to her nurse, Hadassah Peri, and the rest to her 21 relatives.
The second will was signed on April 19, 2005, and left a majority of her fortune to Bock and Kamsler. It also left money to a doctor, a friend, a goddaughter and others who worked for Clark. Peri was also included in the second will.
The second will said: “I intentionally make no provision...for any members of my family...having had minimal contacts with them over the years.”
Bock and Kamsler's handling of the will is under investigation. The two received $500,000 each but were supposed to make millions in additional fees.
The motion filed on Monday claims that Bock and Kamsler spent $1 million of Clark's funds per month while she was in the hospital.
Attorney John Morken, representing the relatives, said wills signed when Clark was younger leave her fortune to the family.
“That was the plan all the way back to the 1920s,” Morken said.
Clark died May 24, at the age of 104.
