Mother Out as Tiffany Trustee

In the latest action in a seven-week-old legal battle between teen pop music star Tiffany and her mother, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has removed Janie C. Williams as trustee of her 16-year-old daughter’s $100,000 trust fund.

Though all proceedings in the case have been closed and most court files sealed, Williams and her attorneys outlined a series of closed-door court sessions for The Times that have occurred during the past month, culminating in an in-chambers session with Judge Kenneth Black on Wednesday. Black named the Bank of California and the accounting firm of Prager & Fenton as trustees of Tiffany’s trust fund at the same time that he removed Williams as trustee.

Black also boosted the percentage of Tiffany’s record earnings that must be held in the trust fund from 30% to 50% and authorized the new trustees to make income tax payments out of the account. As record royalties and concert earnings pour in, the trust fund is expected to burgeon well beyond $1 million, according to Williams’ attorneys.

Williams maintained in statements to The Times and in court documents that Tiffany and her manager, George Tobin, have moved inexorably toward a complete break with Tiffany’s immediate family since Williams first reported to the Norwalk sheriff’s station on March 9 that her 16-year-old daughter was missing.

“I felt that George wanted all the control and Tiffany went along with it because she had her dream of being a star and he (Tobin) could give it to her,” Williams told The Times. “I was never introduced as Tiffany’s mother. I was never introduced at all to anybody of any great importance. George didn’t want anybody to know I was Tiffany’s mother.”

In a declaration submitted to the court, Mrs. Williams outlined several incidents in which she alleged that she was shunted aside by Tobin.

Tobin was not represented in Wednesday’s proceedings, however. Tiffany hired John Frankenheimer of Loeb & Loeb three weeks ago to act in freeing her finances from both her mother and her manager.

The mother-daughter schism came to a head March 9 when Tiffany did not come home from Tobin’s North Hollywood recording studio. Shortly after Williams filed a missing person report with the Sheriff’s Department, Tiffany called the Norwalk sheriff’s station and protested that she was not a runaway. She filed a court emancipation action the following week under a little-used section of the California Civil Code that sometimes allows minors over the age of 14 to act as adults in contract and financial matters.

In late March, the court appointed Tiffany’s aunt, Julie Abbas, as her temporary guardian pending the outcome of her emancipation proceedings. No hearings have been scheduled on the emancipation request, which is currently being heard by a court-appointed mediator.

Tiffany has been traveling on the East Coast most of the past two weeks, performing concerts, and is scheduled to continue her national tour through most of the summer. She will appear in Los Angeles at the Universal Amphitheatre in July.

Williams, who lives in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Norwalk with Tiffany’s two younger half-sisters, told The Times that she has been out of touch with her daughter though she has been in contact by phone from time to time. She maintains that Tiffany does not have the emotional maturity or the basic education necessary to oversee her own financial and career decisions, particularly while she remains under the influence of Tobin.

Tobin, who signed Tiffany to a production contract and management agreement two years ago, is on tour with his client and could not be reached for comment Thursday. The production contract gives 50% of Tiffany’s royalties to Tobin, and the management agreement grants him 20% of her concert earnings.

Tiffany, who has three Top 10 singles to her credit, has sold more than 4 million copies of her debut MCA album. Tiffany’s royalties from record sales thus far will total more than $2 million, according to Tobin’s contract arrangement with MCA Records.

In addition, Tiffany has a $350,000 merchandise licensing contract with Winterland Productions for production of Tiffany clothing and souvenirs, according to Williams’ legal counsel, Neal Goldstein.

“(Tiffany’s manager) is attempting to kidnap her through the court,” said Goldstein. “It’s a judicial kidnaping.”

“That statement is not worthy of a response,” said Frankenheimer. “We believe the proper forum for deciding this matter is the court and not in the press. We concur with the court that this should be a sealed matter and respect that decision and do not want to discuss the merits or details of the case in the press at this time.”

Frankenheimer told The Times that the replacement of Williams as trustee of the girl’s account was a positive step.

“We are very pleased with that result because it speaks to protecting Tiffany’s interests and we find it hard to believe that anyone would think otherwise.”

According to Williams, the action further widens the chasm that has grown between herself and her daughter. Williams maintains that Tobin could gain control of her daughter’s trust fund now that she is no longer trustee, even though the Bank of California and Prager & Fenton are neutral third parties.

“We’re going to file a writ or motion for reconsideration (of Judge Black’s decision) or appeal (to a higher court) because it is outrageous,” said Goldstein.