Wednesday, March 4, 2009

$2 Billion Conservatorship Battle

Phoebe Hearst Cooke is battling with family members in San Luis Obispo courts over control of her wealth — currently estimated at $2 billion.

One of the richest women in the world, the recently widowed 81-year-old granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst is one of the heirs to the Hearst media fortune.

George Hearst Jr., Phoebe’s twin brother, is chairman of Hearst Corp. and president of the Hearst Foundation, according to the company’s Web site. He is among the family members trying to gain conservatorship over her assets.

Some of Cooke’s other family members, including her daughter, Phoebe “Misty” Lipari, who lives in Cambria, are pressing the court to put Cooke’s estate under the permanent control of George Hearst Jr.. They claim she is paranoid, irrational and incapable of handling her finances, which makes her prey to elder abuse, according to petitions filed by their attorney, John Ronca, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

But Cooke is fighting their actions, saying they do not have sufficient facts to prove she is mismanaging her assets or that she is being financially abused by others. She claims that the attempt to put her estate into conservatorship is causing her great and irreparable harm, according to court documents.

Her filing states.: “Further compounding this potential for great harm is the magnitude of the property at stake, approximately two billion dollars.”

Full Article and Source:
Hearst media empire: Heiress fights for $2 billion fortune

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

LICENSED TO STEAL!

Why are lawyers licensed?

What protection does the public have against larcenous lawyers, when the licensing "agency" operates in the dark?

Anonymous said...

Those judges are baaaad!

Can you just hear it?
Kaching! Kaching! Kaching!
What's their quid pro quo?

Now, what was the purpose of guardianship? Please remind me.
To protect and CONSERVE?

Anonymous said...

No, to have a chance to get the $$$$$ nothing to do about protecting or conserving.

The guardianship racket makes the mobsters look like Brownie Souts.

Laws are always written with lawyers best interest first and foremost with as much $$$ as their goal then these lawyers bankroll the campaign war chests of those who will be deciding their cases.

Nice gig huh? While we, the little people, the taxpayers fund this organized crime.

Anonymous said...

The attorneys are problably all fired up and planning for their windfall as a result of this battle.

I am sorry for Phoebe Hearst Cooke -- the pawn in the fight for the riches. This reminds me of the Ruth Lilly case. She is a billionnaire heiress to the Ruth Lilly fortunne -- and a guardianship ward for over 20+ years.

They will get her - they have to. Everything's at stake here.

Anonymous said...

"Brownie Scouts"?

Well, why do you think we call those wonderful people (with their "License to Steal") "The Barfia"?

Self-policing of the Barfia is a sick, sick joke! Purely a self-serving device.

Wonder why Shakespeare said, "Let's kill all the lawyers"?