Alan Thicke’s Estate Faces Obstacles to Settlement

Thicke’s sons and their stepmother square off over correct distribution of estate. It is not unusual for children and their stepmother to get into arguments when settling an estate, but it is unusual to bring the threat of revealing information to tabloids, according to TMZ in "Alan Thicke Sons Go To War With His Wife To Protect the Estate." Two sons of deceased actor Alan Thicke have filed a claim suggesting that Thicke's third wife, Tanya Callau, is attempting to get more of the estate than she is entitled to receive and that she has threatened to go to the tabloids, if she does not get her way. Thicke and Callau had a prenuptial agreement and she is already set to get a sizeable portion of his estate. Her take includes 25% of his personal assets, 40% of the remainder of the estate, a $500,000 life insurance payment and she can stay in the residence for the remainder of her life. Other than the celebrity nature of this estate and the alleged threat to get the tabloids involved, this is, of course, not a particularly unusual estate battle. Adult children are often at odds with a surviving step-parent and that battle often makes its way into probate court to fight over the estate. This is especially true when there are large sums of money involved. It would probably be wise, if wealthy people who have remarried and who have children from previous relationships, meet with an estate planning attorney and attempt to reduce the chances of major arguments after they have passed on. Reference: TMZ (May 16, 2017) "Alan Thicke Sons Go To War With His Wife To Protect the Estate."