While the late actor's wife and children are fighting over his estate in court, the family won't be able to battle over his right of publicity as it is restricted for 25 years following his death.
- Mar 31, 2015
AceShowbiz - Robin Williams' wife and children are battling over his property in a San Francisco courtroom but they won't be able to battle over his right of publicity. According to a review of the Robin Williams Trust, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Robin bequeathed rights to his name, signature, photograph and likeness to the charitable organization, Windfall Foundation.
The Trust restricted exploitation of the "Night at the Museum" actor's right of publicity for 25 years after his death, which means that there will be no authorized commercial featuring Robin nor can he be digitally inserted into a commercial venture until at least August 11, 2039. The Trust mandates that Robin's publicity rights be distributed to other charitable organization with same purpose if Windfall is considered ineligible for a charitable deduction by the Internal Revenue Code.
On Monday, March 30 a judge asked Robin's wife Susan Schneider and his children Zachary, Cody and Zelda Williams to try and settle their property dispute before a court hearing on June 1. The fight over Robin's estate might ultimately be decided by his trustees.
Robin's trustees Arnold Kassoy and Joel Faden said in court documents, "Susan's contention of ambiguity is entirely irrelevant because the trust is clear and unambiguous about who has the 'final and absolute' authority to determine the disposition of the tangible personal property: that power is vested in the trustees."
The trustees' lawyer Andrew Bassak told Los Angeles Times via email that the estate battle should have been kept private. Andrew said, "Robin Williams was an intensely private person who had carefully constructed his estate plan to keep it out of public view. The trustees are disappointed that Ms. Williams decided to file a court proceeding and to make the terms of Mr. Williams' trust public, as this would have been disturbing to Mr. Williams."
According to Andrew, the trustees have finalized their decisions on a majority of Robin's property and have notified the beneficiaries but haven't decided the date to transfer "physical possession" of certain items to Robin's wife and children. The trustees received input from Robin's wife and children regarding the dispersal of his estate but argued that "Susan's petition was premature when it was filed." They're now asking the court to dismiss her petition, which they claimed was moot.
Hours after the court hearing, Zelda set the record straight about rumors surrounding her family drama, posting on Instagram and Tumblr, "My brothers and I have not at any point since dad's death been invited to or visited his and Susan's house in Tiburon, nor have we removed anything from it. For reporters to twist Susan's court petition to imply that she believes my siblings and I did otherwise is to attempt to create drama where there is none and spread outright falsehoods, sadly a more and more common occurrence on the 'news' these days. At least in this instance, it is gossip I can disprove with actual fact. Anywho, that's all for now. So long, and thanks for all the fish!"
Zelda added on Twitter, "Gossip is often more 'interesting' than fact, but blood runs thicker than ink. I will always stand up for my brothers against outright lies."
Current Mood: pic.twitter.com/lN3tg6oYOn
— Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) March 31, 2015
