The late actor and comedian Robin Williams appears to have left something a bit vague in the wording of a trust that bequeathed a number of specific personal items, as well as his memorabilia, to his three children from two previous marriages, Zak, Zelda, and Cody. The children insist that they have a claim to his awards, watches, and some other memorabilia, but his wife of three years, Susan Williams, claims that the children have no claim to items found in the Tiburon home she shared with Williams, which he left to her.
As KPIX/CBS 5 reports, an attorney for Susan Williams has filed papers in San Francisco Superior Court claiming that the three kids took items from the Tiburon home that did not belong to them. "Susan Williams says that because he wanted her to continue to live at the Tiburon home, it makes sense that he intended only for his children to have the specific personal items he delineated that were kept at another home he owned in Napa."
Attorneys for the kids, meanwhile, say that this is only "adding insult to a terrible injury" and add they "are heartbroken that Petitioner, Mr. Williams’ wife of less than three years, has acted against his wishes by challenging the plans he so carefully made for his estate."
It's not clear which items are in particular dispute, but it sure sounds petty! TMZ reports that a watch collection is one of the things Williams' wife is looking to keep, trying to redefine the word "jewelry" so that it does not include the watches. Apparently the late Williams had some figurines, graphic novels, his Oscar for Good Will Hunting, and other entertainment industry memorabilia in storage, as well as in the Tiburon home, and the children argue that they have a right to all of this stuff and there was no limitation on which location they could remove items from.
The New York Times and SF Chronicle add that Susan Williams was "frightened" of the three kids trying to invade her home in December to collect various items, and therefore blocked them from entering.
It's also interesting to note that previous to this court filing, Susan Williams more commonly referred to herself as Susan Schneider.
A source tells TMZ that the late Williams would have been "heartsick" that this couldn't be dealt with privately.
Williams' August suicide shocked the country. Despite various rumors of substance abuse, relapse, and possible Parkinson's disease, no drugs were found in his system at the time of death, and a UCSF examination later found that he had abnormal protein deposits in his brain consistent with Lewy body dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.
Previously: Robin Williams Memorial In S.F. Draws Dozens Of Stars; Billy Crystal 'In Tears'
Coroner: Robin Williams Was Clean And Sober When He Died
