The Probate Lawyer Blog

It's the Octomom vs. celebrity attorney Gloria Allred!  Battling in the California Court of Appeals over the rights of a stranger to intercede to protect children whom he's never met, just because they're on TV.  Well, and because there are 8 babies, plus 6 other kids, and a mom with no husband and no job.

While Octomom Nadya Suleman has captured the interest of the nation for the mind-blowing number of children she's given birth to in the last few years, her court case has peaked the interest of guardianship attorneys across the country.  Why?  Because it addresses a unique question:  To what lengths should the law allow court intervention to protect children . . . should a complete stranger be able to haul a parent into court? 

A few months after Suleman gave birth to her now famous (or infamous) octuplets in January, 2009, a self-proclaimed champion of celebrity children filed a guardianship proceeding seeking to protect the kids.  He asked for an independent guardian to be appointed to oversee the children's finances.  He wanted to make sure they received their fair share of any profits Suleman earns from reality shows and other money from footage and photographs of the family that redefines the phrase "Eight Is Enough!".

Everyone was shocked when actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly at age 32 on December 20th, 2009.  She left behind a husband, Simon Monjack, of two and a half years and a mother with whom she was very close.  Reportedly, her mother lived with Murphy and her husband the last few years.

Only one day after her tragic passing, celebrity gossip website TMZ posted an article saying that Murphy had a will, but one that was created before her marriage.  The report stated the will left everything to her mother and nothing to her husband.

It also stated Brittany's house was held in a trust which also left it to her mother, not her husband.  Another website said the house -- which Murphy had purchased from Britney Spears in 2003 for almost four million dollars -- was held in a trust called the "Nina Bow Trust".

At this point, it's too early to tell if the reports are accurate.  Wills are public records and are available to the media and websites alike, but only once they are filed.  That doesn't happen one day after someone passes away.