A settlement was reached between the representative of Kirk Kerkorian’s estate and an attorney who claimed the late billionaire’s will wrongfully excluded a 17-year-old girl who says she is his biological daughter.
According to court papers filed Thursday by attorneys for Anthony Mandekic, the executor of Kerkorian’s estate, the resolution of the will dispute will give Kira Kerkorian additional money.
The settlement still requires court approval. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18.
Mandekic was Kerkorian’s close friend and confidante and the CEO of Tracinda Corp., the casino tycoon’s Beverly Hills-based private investment firm.
Lawyer Michael Augustine serves as Kira Kerkorian’s guardian ad litem, a role to which he was appointed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Stratton on Sept. 10 in order to protect the teen’s interests.
Kira Kerkorian turns 18 on March 9, but was still a minor as of the Nov. 25 deadline to contest the will.
According to court papers filed by Mandekic’s attorneys, Kirk Kerkoran was obligated to provide $7 million to a trust created on the girl’s behalf based on his marital settlement agreement with ex-wife Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, who is the teen’s mother.
Under the will contest settlement, another $1.5 million will be distributed to the teen’s trust, according to the Mandekic attorneys’ court papers.
Augustine filed his petition Nov. 23 and maintained in his court papers that when Kerkorian’s will was created in July 2013, its beneficiaries “knew or should have known (Kerkorian’s) health was failing, that he was dependent on the persons surrounding him for his daily living needs and that he was highly susceptible to the influence of the persons on whom he depended.”
Augustine’s petition further alleged the will’s beneficiaries took advantage of the trust and confidence that Kirk Kerkorian placed in them and “suggested and dictated the contents of the document, arranged for the document to be drafted, arranged for execution of the document and caused (Kerkorian) to execute the document.”
Bonder Kerkorian, a 50-year-old former professional tennis player, was married to the businessman for less than a month in 1999.
Kirk Kerkorian denied during his lifetime that he was Kira’s father, but grew fond of the girl and decided to provide for her anyway.
Kerkorian died June 15 at age 98 from age-related causes. The son of poor Armenian immigrants, he developed key properties on the Las Vegas Strip, including the MGM and MGM Grand.
He also invested in and operated businesses in a number of industries, including airlines, automakers, Chrysler Corp., General Motors and film studios. He purchased MGM Studios three times, bought United Artists and tried to acquire Columbia Pictures.
— Wire reports