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Family of Robin Williams Agree to Meet Outside Court
The family of the late Robin Williams have agreed to meet outside of Court in a bid to end the dispute over the comedians last written will.
The wife and children of the Hollywood A-lister had been set for a battle in court, however, have agreed to take time to attempt to settle their differences with lawyers present.
Personal Effects
The main argument comes from the wording of certain terms in the will, with the two parties disagreeing over the definition of personal effects.Susan Schneider Williams, who was married to Robin Williams for five years before his death, wishes for the items in the house she shared with Williams to remain in her possession and excluded from the inheritance. She is also seeking the suit Robin Williams wore on the day of their marriage, art that was given as wedding gifts and other tokens.
She also argues that some of the items have been removed from the property without her consent as both parties argue over what is rightfully theirs. Despite these claims, the children of Robin Williams from a previous marriage insist that they have not visited the property since their father's death.
Yesterday, on the first day of court proceedings, a judge ruled that both parties take eight weeks to work out disagreements over money and property, including clothes, photographs and movie awards.
Trust
Williams, who set up a trust to ensure his inheritance left a substantial amount to both parties, with memorabilia and other aspects going to his children. The Oscar that he won for his role in Good Will Hunting, however, is up for dispute as well as some other items which his widow argues is not memorabilia but personal items.A trustees for the estate told the judge that the comedian had decided to establish trusts for his heirs and had never meant for a list of possessions to be debated over in public, with over 1,200 items disputed by both families.
Schneider Williams' attorney insisted that proceedings had been amicable and that it was a normal process. He told reporters outside the court: “Robin Williams didn't mean for the house to be gutted, furniture removed and art taken off the walls.
"This is a normal process and there's nothing unusual about this. If the estate is a lake, what Susan is seeking is a bucket."
Despite this claim, the children of Williams claim that Schneider Williams was "adding insult to a terrible injury" by trying to change the trust agreement and rob them of items that their father left them.
The debate originally occurred eight months ago and has seen a rather public and hotly debated argument.
Will And Trust
Robin Williams had numerous rights and plans on his death, with the recent discovery of a legal document restricting the usage of any images of himself for 25 years after his death.The public debate over the estate of Mr Williams highlights the importance of planning and the creation of a well-drafted will.