Country singer Naomi Judd left control of an estimated $25 million estate to her husband, not mentioning her daughters by name, several media outlets are reporting.
Judd died by suicide on April 30, the day before she and her daughter Wynonna were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The late country singer appointed her husband of 33 years, Larry Strickland, as executor of her estate, according to court documents.
Neither Wynonna Judd nor Ashley Judd is mentioned by name in the will, though that does not necessarily mean they are not beneficiaries of the will.
There is reference to Judd’s children in a section called “Allocation of GST Exemption.” In that section, Judd directs the executor to allocate the exemption in a way that is “most beneficial to my children and my more remote issue.”
It is not known if either of Judd’s daughters are named as beneficiaries of any of Judd’s assets. Judd had a 1,000-acre homesite in Tennessee. Both of her daughters have their own home on the property.
The will said Strickland, 76, will have “full authority and discretion” over any property that is an asset to Naomi Judd’s estate. He will have the authority “without the approval of any court” or permission from any beneficiary of the estate, the document read.
Judd also said in the will that that all real property be deemed “personal property” after her death. The personal property would be “subject to sale by my Executor, acting without joinder of any beneficiary, for the purpose of facilitating the distribution of my estate among the beneficiaries of this Will, as well as for the purpose of paying taxes, administrative expenses, and any other expenses or debts of my estate, without first being required to exhaust all other personal property of my estate.”
According to the document, if Strickland cannot serve as executor due to his death or other reasons, Judd appointed her brother-in-law, Reginald Strickland, and Daniel Kris Wiatr, as co-executors. Wiatr is president of Wiatr & Associates, a business management and accounting firm.
The will is dated Nov. 20, 2017,
Judd’s daughters announced their mother’s death through a statement shared on social media in April.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy,” the joint statement said. “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered.
“We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
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