The late Carrie Fisher was famous as “Star Wars” Princess Leia and as the real-life daughter of Debbie Reynolds, but her estate is just another dry legal complexity when it comes to wills and trusts.
Fisher’s will as disclosed in public records does not indicate the full net worth of her assets, but refers to two of her companies, use of her name, residuals, jewelry, artwork and a pricey Tesla electric car.
The actress who battled drug use and depression designated the trustee for the Carrie Fisher Living Trust. He includes a copy of the late actress-writer’s will as part of his recent supplemental filing to his earlier petition for an order confirming the trust’s assets.
The will, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court by petitioner Dennis King, is dated January 2016 and identifies actress Billie Catherine Lourd as Fisher’s only child.
The will … “pours over all her assets to the trust,” according to court papers filed by King’s attorneys. The will also nominates King as the will’s executor.
The will states that any gifts bequeathed be free of inheritance and estate taxes and that those fees instead be paid by the residue of the estate.
King’s attorneys’ court papers further state that some of the trust assignment documents may be in the storage files of a prior attorney of Fisher who died some years ago.
“Efforts have been made and are currently being made to locate and obtain access to those files,” King’s attorney’s court papers state.
In his petition filed Feb. 28, King says that Fisher wanted all of her assets declared part of the Fisher trust. Lourd is the trust’s beneficiary.
The court papers do not state either the individual or overall worth of Fisher’s assets. The belongings include a 100 percent interest in both Carrie Fisher Properties LLC and Carrie Fisher Online LLC; a life insurance policy with Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co.; rights of publicity related to the use of her name; residuals from her film works and performances; future rights to patents and trademarks; plus jewelry, artwork and a 2016 Tesla Model S P90D, which typically sells for more than $100,000.
A hearing on King’s petition is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, but his attorneys are asking for a delay so that all interested parties can be served with the new court papers.
Fisher, known for playing Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” film series, died Dec. 27 at age 60, a day before the death of her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, at age 84.
—City News Service