The court-appointed guardian ad litem for the 13-year-old daughter of the late filmmaker David Lynch is asking a judge to find that child support to be paid to the minor be considered a debt and paid “off the top” based on the divorce between Lynch and his then-wife about a month before his death.
Lynch died of cardiac arrest in January 2025 at age 78. The longtime smoker had emphysema. His work included “Twin Peaks” and “Blue Velvet.”
Lynch left much of his estate to his four children, including Lula Boginia Lynch. On May 26, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Juarez named attorney Stefanie Cutler as Lula’s guardian ad litem. A GAL is a court-appointed individual, typically a lawyer, who investigates a case and advocates for the best interests of a minor or an incapacitated adult who cannot represent themselves.
On July 31, Cutler filed court papers in advance of a Sept. 9 hearing asking that Lula’s child support be considered a debt and be paid “off the top” as Lynch allegedly intended and that the money not be taken out of Lula’s subtrust. According to Cutler’s court papers, last Sept. 29 Sabrina Sutherland, the trustee of the Lynch trust and the late filmmaker’s longtime business manager, filed a petition asking that Lula’s “discretionary” support payments to her mother, Emily Lynch, be charged to the teen’s beneficial share of her father’s trust.
Lula’s step-siblings agree with Sutherland’s petition, but Lula’s mother does not, according to Cutler’s court papers.
“Emily contends that charging those obligations to Lula’s subtrust would improperly diminish Lula’s inheritance and conflict with the stipulated judgment’s separate requirement that Lula remain a co-equal beneficiary with her siblings,” according to Cutler’s pleadings.
Although Lulu’s step-children agree that Lynch’s child support obligations survived his death and are enforceable against the trust, they contend that the obligations need not be borne by the trust estate as a whole, according to Cutler’s court papers.
A subtrust is a secondary, smaller trust created inside a larger master trust or will that becomes active after a specific event like the death of the instrument’s creator. It helps split and manage assets for different goals, such as protecting money for children or a spouse.
“My conclusion is that allocation of support payments made to Emily against Lula’s share of the trust conflicts directly with the plain language of David’s express intent, as set forth in the relevant documents, namely the trust, and the stipulated (divorce) judgment, Cutler further states in her court papers.
Lynch was married four times. His other children were Jennifer, 57, Austin, 43, and Riley, 34. The four offspring are slated to receive tuition and medical expenses as trust beneficiaries. They will also be provided gifts for tuition and medical expenses through the trust.