Published on WealthManagement.com
By Anna Sulkin Stern, June 12th, 2024
If the lawsuit filed by the children of late musician Robbie Robertson, guitarist of the Band, sounds like a broken record, it’s because we unfortunately hear about this scenario all too often.
Robertson’s children are accusing his widow, Jane Zuccarini, of fraud and financial elder abuse, claiming she took advantage of an ill and vulnerable Robertson “to enrich herself to the detriment of Robertson’s children.”
According to court documents, three years after they started dating, Zuccarini allegedly convinced Robertson to sell his own house to purchase a $6 million Beverly Hills home together, to be owned equally. The complaint, however, alleges that Robertson paid the $1.8 million down payment in full. The complaint further alleges that Zuccarini planned a secret wedding in March 2023, a few months before Robertson passed away, and that Robertson’s family only found out about it hours after it happened after showing up for what they thought was an anniversary party. Zuccarini allegedly also had Robertson sign a prenup and an amended Tenant in Common agreement before the wedding prepared by her attorneys that stated if one of them died, the estate of the deceased would continue to pay one-half of the mortgage.
The lawsuit asks that the amended agreement be canceled and seeks damages relating to the elder abuse claims and interference with inheritance.
It’s not unusual for a petition challenging an estate plan to consist of financial elder abuse, undue influence and incapacity claims. To prevail on these claims, “the burden of proof is carried by the plaintiff”... For example, if the challenge to the decedent’s estate planning documents is based on a claim of the decedent’s incapacity, then the plaintiff must submit evidence to the court that demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the decedent lacked the necessary capacity to sign the decedent’s estate planning documents. This can be more challenging than meets the eye, as you need to overcome the presumption that the decedent had capacity when the documents were signed.
Jennifer Campbell, Partner, Karlin & Peebles
