Robin Williams’ children and widow agree to meet over comedian’s estate
The wife of Robin Williams and his children have agreed to meet in private next week to discuss how they can resolve disagreements over the late actor’s estate.
At a hearing Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, attorneys for both sides argued for resolution in the case after months of dispute. If both sides can’t come to a resolution on their own, attorneys will return to court and ask for the judge’s input.
At that point, the judge could dismiss the case and ask them to file it again to address specific concerns, said attorney James Wagstaffe, who represents Susan Schneider Williams. The judge could also grant Schneider Williams’ request for an evidentiary hearing so that the late comedian’s wishes could be heard in court, he said. Williams committed suicide last year.
“The dead poet … Robin Williams needs to be heard,” Wagstaffe said.
The latest dispute in the Williams’ legal saga was over how much Schneider Williams’ would receive to maintain the Tiburon property, where she and her late husband lived.
According to her attorneys, Williams requested that she be allowed to continue living at their home and that expenses associated with maintaining the property be covered. Ownership of the property would be transferred to the comedian’s three children and her own two children after she dies.
Cody, Zelda and Zachary Williams argued in court documents filed Aug. 14 that their step-mother was seeking more money and a guaranteed income stream. They asserted that Schneider Williams was “seeking to increase her share of the trust assets at the expense of the Williams children.”
The parties have been working to resolve the estate’s issues, but the talks have been at a stalemate, according to court documents. Schneider Williams has said that she hasn’t received any income from a trust Williams created for her to pay for her cost of living, and that some personal items of sentimental value are under dispute.
She is requesting that all property inside the home, including art and furniture, remain in her trust.
Williams left his jewelry, clothing and memorabilia collected through his entertainment career.
One of the collections under contention is Williams’ bicycles. Williams’ bicycle collection is estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, Wagstaffe said.
Schneider Williams is requesting to keep a bike that she and Williams purchased during their honeymoon, he said.
“Susan is willing to work with the children for a fair, amicable resolution on these issues,” Wagstaffe said.
The Williams children’s attorney declined to comment.
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