Relatives Settle Costly Battle Over Estes Will

Relatives battling over the multimillion-dollar estate of a Simi Valley woman have agreed to settle their differences, ending one of Ventura County’s costliest and longest-running legal scraps over a contested will.

Relatives of Lucile Chandler Estes, who died a day before Christmas in 1989, accepted Thursday a tax-free $1.3-million settlement from her widowed husband and onetime Simi Valley City Councilman Bill Baker.

Shortly after her death, Estes’ relatives sued Baker, contesting his right to inherit her real estate fortune with an estimated value of $8 million to $18 million. The relatives alleged that Baker, who was 25 years younger than Estes, befriended the ailing woman and married her so that he could take control of her assets.

Baker has maintained that he and Estes married for love, not money. They were married for three years before she died at age 85.

The parties since have been in and out of court, and even reached a tentative agreement in April that unraveled as it was being finalized.

Last month, shortly before the case was scheduled to go to trial, Superior Court Judge Ed Osborne brought the parties together in an all-day session that resulted in the settlement.

“We made one last effort and it is finally, finally settled,” said Larry Hines, Baker’s attorney. “Everyone has now signed off. It’s finally over.”

David Tredway, an attorney representing some of the family members, said his clients are pleased with the settlement.

“My clients have money; I would say they are satisfied,” Tredway said.

The two sides spent more than $1 million in legal costs in preparing for trial.

The settlement money will be divided among eight of Estes’ relatives: Jeffrey Showers, Gregory Showers, Bradley Showers, Nancy Showers Haddad, William A. Spencer, Stacey Spencer, Abby Spencer and Lilia M. Gillespie.

The relatives received $425,000 in cash, Tredway said, and a note secured by a deed of trust on Simi Valley property worth $875,000. That property is for sale.

Baker receives half of what is left of the estate. The other half goes to two other relatives and a friend of Estes.

The family members who filed suit at one time were set to receive sums ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 from what was supposed to be an irrevocable trust established by Estes in 1986 before she married Baker. The trust was amended more than a dozen times before her death, ultimately cutting the relatives out and leaving the bulk of the estate to Baker.

Hines said Baker agreed to settle the matter because Estes’ assets were being eaten by taxes and attorneys’ fees.

“We had spent thousands of hours and had a very strong case,” Hines said. But if Baker had lost at trial, another relative would have been cut out of the trust altogether. “He was trying to protect that interest.”