Self-Described Widow of Restaurateur Wins Round in Estate Fight

A woman who claims to be the widow of Valley restaurateur George Fang won the first round in her battle with Fang’s brother to control the slain man’s estate when a judge appointed an independent corporation that she had selected to be temporary administrator.

Trust Services of America Inc. will attempt to determine the assets and liabilities of Fang’s estate, which included four Chinese restaurants in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County. Until a permanent overseer is named, the trust company will collect rents from Fang’s real estate holdings and pay mortgages and other bills.

The firm was appointed Tuesday by Superior Court Judge G. Keith Wisot at the request of Amy Fang, the former Chui-Hui Chuang, who claims to have married George Fang on Dec. 8 in a secret ceremony in Canoga Park. The court action came amid a tangled web of intrigue, with one side doubting the validity of the marriage and the other questioning the authenticity of a document purported to be Fang’s will.

Hearing Set

A hearing to determine the permanent overseer of the estate is scheduled for April 29.

Fang was shot Feb. 19 in the office of his Mandarin Wok restaurant in Northridge and died two days later. The murder, which took place on Chinese New Year’s Eve, remains unsolved.

Amy Fang’s attorney, Roderick C. Lipscomb, has estimated Fang’s estate to be worth $1.75 million. However, the Fang family’s attorney, Warren Goodwin, said the actual figure is “nowhere near that value” and will probably fall to less than $200,000 after Fang’s debts are paid.

A will that George Fang allegedly signed on Dec. 11, 1981, leaves his estate to his only two brothers, Grover and Richard, and asks that Grover be appointed to run the estate in the event of his death, said Goodwin, who prepared the will and served as a witness. Goodwin said Fang intended for the money be used to support his 13-year-old daughter, who lives in Taiwan.

Forgery Suspicion

But Amy Fang believes the signature on the will may have been forged, Lipscomb said.

“My client has indicated that she would like to have the will evaluated by a handwriting expert to determine if the signature is valid,” Lipscomb said.

At the same time, the Fang family plans to challenge the marriage, which took place in a confidential ceremony allowed under state law for couples who have been living together as common-law man and wife. Amy and George Fang had been living together. In a confidential marriage ceremony, no blood tests are required, and the records are not public.

Although the Fang family acknowledges that the ceremony took place, they doubt whether George intended for it to be a “bona fide marriage,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin would not elaborate or discuss the grounds on which he plans to challenge the marriage, except to say that “many, many of these marriages are not bona fide.”

Community Property

If the marriage is determined to be valid, Amy Fang would stand to collect one-half the value of the couple’s community property--that which was acquired during the time of the marriage--and one-half the separate property each brought to the marriage.

Lipscomb said he has submitted to the court a copy of the confidential marriage certificate and a sworn declaration from the minister who performed the service at the Chapel of the Canyon in Canoga Park.

“Amy said that George had indicated to her that he preferred to keep the marriage confidential until he announced it to his family,” Lipscomb said. “He was planning to do that around the Chinese New Year, when he was killed.”