Who doesn't love a long cliff hanger? As promised, here's the second part of
Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown's story: When last we wrote, Whitney Houston had passed, leaving the bulk of her money in a Trust for her daughter.
It parceled out her estate over time, with Brown receiving 10% of the estate at 21, an additional 16% at 25, and the remainder at 30. Aware of Brown's drug problems, her family petitioned the court to amend the ages at which she would inherit but ultimately dropped the case. Unfortunately, in 2015 at the age of 22, Brown was found unconscious in her bathtub and passed about six months later.
So, what happened to her inheritance? According to Houston's Will, if Brown died before her 30th birthday, the remainder of her estate was to be split among her relatives, including her mother and brothers. But what of the money that had already been distributed to her?
When Brown fell into a coma, the court appointed administrator Bedelia Hargrove to oversee the estate. There was a potential claim by Nick Gordon, who was never adopted by Houston but was raised from the age of 12 in the household. There were rumors that he and Brown had been secretly married, but no legal paperwork could be produced to back this up.
However, there were problems between Cissy and Pat Houston, Brown's grandmother and aunt, who were the Trustees of her estate and Hargrove. Hargrove sued to recoup $86 million in bills from the estate. The Houstons refused to pay because Hargrove was unable to show receipts for the expenses. Additionally, the Houstons thought she wasted money pursuing a civil case against Gordon, who would never be able to pay the judgement found against him.
So, what happened to the money? I wasn't really able to find out. It's not known if Brown had a Will, although if she had a
Trust it's possible that's why no information on who ended up inheriting was found. It's also likely a lot of the money was spent on hospital fees and court costs. Assumedly, at least a portion of the $86 million charges were legit (6 months of hospice isn't cheap and I think it's safe to speculate that Brown's care wasn't cut-rate). If there was no Will, as her father, Bobby Brown could have made a claim, but so far hasn't, which might be a clue that there isn't much left. Anything else would likely have gone to her other family members.
No matter what your age, you should have paperwork in place about what should happen to your estate in the event of an accident. Even if it's just basic guidelines, it can really help your family out during their time of mourning.