Campbell Estate Disclosures Waived

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Nashville judge has formally approved a request to excuse the executor of the late Glenn Campbell's estate from the requirement to file a detailed annual accounting of all transactions involving estate assets.
The two-page motion approved by Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy had been submitted by the co-trustees of the Campbell Family Trust. It relieves Kimberly Campbell, the singer's widow, who is the executor and personal representative of the estate from the requirement to file a detailed annual report.
Under Kennedy's order she is also relieved of the requirement to make an appearance before the court next month.
The action means that many financial details of the estate will likely remain private. This is in sharp contrast to the very public battle that emerged when Campbell's will was filed. The will specifically bars three of Campbell's children from any estate assets.
The three, Kelli, Travis and Wesley, first challenged the will but then, in the midst of negotiations withdrew the challenge.
Campbell died in 2017 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.According to the Davidson County Probate Clerk's office annual accountings must include detailed financial details even including photographs of all canceled checks.
The filings must include detailed financial records and even photocopies of all canceled checks.
Thus far few details of the Campbell estate's holding have been made public.
In one filing estate lawyers disclosed that a California attorney hired to handle "complicated issues relating to entertainment law and intellectual property,"was being paid over $1,050 an hour. The fee filing, however, redacted multiple details of the original billing statements.
Though a hearing had been twice scheduled for approval of those and other legal fees the session was postponed indefinitely

Estate Lawyer's Fee, $1,050 per Hour

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

An attorney from a politically connected law firm is charging more than $1,000 an hour to perform legal services for the estate of Glen Campbell, the famed singer and songwriter who passed away a little over two years ago.
A fee request filed in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville shows Jay L. Cooper of the Greenberg Traurig LLC (GT Law) has been charging $1,050 per hour for the services performed for the estate. The details were included in a six-page filing this week.
The motion seeks total payments of $221,793.85 and includes billings for Cooper, his son Todd and other Greenberg Traurig lawyers and support staff. Jay Cooper's hourly rate was $980 in 2017 when he first was assigned to the case. He has charged $1,050 since 2018. His son's fee was $650 per hour.
The bill covers services provided by the firm from June 8, 2017 through Oct. 23 of this year.
The fee approval request was submitted by Campbell's widow, Kimberly Campbell, who is also the administrator of the estate.
Although the filing includes an itemization of the services provided, many of the details were redacted. A footnote states that if the judge requires additional information, a non-redacted version will be submitted "in camera," meaning that it will not be available to the general public.
The filing states that Cooper's skills were needed because the work relating to the estate's interests "involved complicated legal issues related to entertainment law and intellectual property law."
The motion also cites the fact that Cooper had served as an advisor to the late singer for more than 30 years and is "familiar with Mr. Campbell's career, assets and legal issues."
The motion specifically cites divorce agreements from prior marriages and indicates that a divorce agreement mandates that certain royalty payments be made to unnamed third parties.
The itemization refers to a "life" film and a museum agreement and efforts to develop "potential income generating projects for the estate."
Cooper's assigned duties include overseeing "copyright, royalty interests and licensing Campbell's name, likeness and image. The fees, the motion adds, were consistent with those charged by other Los Angeles attorneys.
The Greenberg firm is based in Miami area but Cooper works out of their West Coast office. The firm once employed Jack Abramoff who was indicted and convicted for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe a public official and tax evasion. He served 43 months in federal prison and was released Dec. 3, 2010.

Campbell Estate Fees Approved

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Nashville probate judge has approved fees totaling more than $80,000 incurred in the estate of the late Glen Campbell and the bulk of the payments go to the late singer's one time business manager.
Approved by Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy were payments of $32,262 to the firm of Gursey Schneider and $41,055 directly to Stanley Schneider.
Also approved was $8,043 to Nashville attorney Blaine Smith for estate work he performed.
The fee requests had been submitted by Campbell's widow, Kimberly Campbell, who also is executor of the estate.
Schneider's firm, Gursey Schneider, was hired to prepare tax returns for the estate. A tax return was filed on Nov. 8 of last year.
Schneider also was appointed as interim administrator. The $41,055 payment was for his services as interim administrator at fees of up to $450 an hour.
Campbell died in 2017 following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Campbell's will excludes three of his children and they initially moved to challenge the will, but later withdrew the effort amid hints of a settlement.
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Campbell Estate Costs Mount

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

After months with little action, a series of claims have surfaced in the estate of the late singer Glen Campbell who died a little over two years ago after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.
In a series of filings in Davidson Probate Court, Kimberly Campbell, the singer's widow, has sought court approval for fees totaling about $80,000. Two of the requests involve services provided by Stanley B. Schneider and his firm Gursey Schneider.
Schneider has served as an interim administrator of the estate and also was charged with estimating the value of the estate and also the filing of a federal tax return.
One filing seeks payment of $32,262 for tax preparation fees. A tax return, according to the petition, was filed on Nov. 8 of last year, but a copy was not filed in the estate case.
The petition states that the fee was more than usual "for many reasons," including the fact that many of those assets are "entertainment related and can be difficult to value."
In addition the petition states that many of the late singer's assets are "community property with different individuals."
"Finally Mr. Campbell owned interests in several businesses, some of which are no longer active," according to the filing.
Schneider is also seeking payment of $41,055 in fees for acting as interim administrator of the estate. The fees range from $160 an hour for support staff to $450 an hour for services provided by Schneider himself.
The claim calls for a total of $15,862 for 35.25 hours of service by Schneider himself and 201 hours by support staff for a total of 236.25 hours.
The itemized billing statement filed along with the claim shows numerous billings for monthly updates on royalties credited to the estate. Other entries include references to Campbell's various business interests including a stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.
A third claim filed recently seeks payment of $8,043 in legal fees by the Nashville form of Bass, Berry and Sims with hourly fees ranging from $295 to $460.
The most recent estimate of the value of the Campbell estate is $1.229 million, according to court filings.
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Campbell Estate Estimate Doubles

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The estimated value of the estate of Glen Campbell has more than doubled but it is still well below early unofficial estimates.
In a report filed Thursday in Davidson Probate Court, Stanley B. Schneider, the interim administrator, put the new figure at $1.229 million, up from an earlier estimate of $410,221.
According to the four-page filing, the revised estimate includes a newly calculated estimate of $1.1 million in future royalty rights. Court records show that an outside expert was hired to compute that figure.
Schneider's report also includes three payments from Campbell's music interests from the time of his death on Aug. 8 of last year until April 20 of this year. Those payments from Seventh Son Music and Glen Campbell Music totaled $1,779.
In addition to the music payments, Schneider listed a $14,247 payment from an insurance claim for damage to a California property that has since been sold.
Other projected income includes $25,071 from Glen Campbell Music, $84,460 from Glen Campbell Enterprises and $9,637 from Seventh Son Music.
The estimated future value of Campbell's likeness and image is listed at $10,000.
A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 13 on a motion to formally accept the will filed in the case by Campbell's widow, Kimberly.
A challenge to that will had been filed by three of Campbell's children, but that effort was recently dropped. The three, Kelli, Travis and Wesley Campbell, are specifically excluded from any inheritance under the 2006 will filed by Kimberly.
The $410,221 estimate of the estate's value was filed in April.

2nd Lawyer Drops Campbell Will Challenge.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing unforeseen ethical concerns, the lawyer representing the three disinherited children of the late singer Glenn Campbell is asking the court to approve his withdrawal from the case.
In a motion filed today in Davidson Probate Court, David Callahan, who had signed on to represent the three after their first attorney bowed out, said an unforeseen ethical issue was forcing his withdrawal.
As Callahan's motion indicates that leaves little time for Travis, Kelli and Wesley Campbell to find another attorney before impending deadlines set by Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy.
Callahan did not detail the conflict but said he only recently learned of it.
The original attorney for the three, Christopher Fowler, withdrew in September for unspecified reasons.
The three Campbell children have filed notice that they intend to challenge Campbell's competency to approve the will filed last year by his widow Kimberly. They also have raised an "undue influence" challenge.
Callahan stated in his motion that he was unaware of the "present ethical conundrum" when he agreed to take the case.
While Kennedy approved Fowler's withdrawal from the case, he also has set a series of deadlines and set an April 14, 2019 trial date.
The 2006 will filed by Kimberly Campbell names her as executor and specifically bars the three from any benefit from his estate.
Campbell died in August of last year following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. The 2016 will now under challenge names Kimberly and his five other children as beneficiaries.
In an order issued in late August, Kennedy set a series of deadlines for discovery, including the taking of depositions.
In seeking to withdraw, Callahan said that even if they were to schedule depositions every day in November they could not meet the current deadlines.'
The motion states that information filed for the estate shows that some 31 witnesses must be deposed and information gathered from seven facilities where Campbell received treatment.
The health facilities, like the witnesses "are scattered across the United States from Los Angeles to Nashville," Callahan's three page motion states.
"It would work extreme hardship on them if they are required to forego key witness depositions simply due to the lack of time," the motion concludes.

$1.3 Million in Campbell Estate Claims Challenged

By Walter F. Roche Jr

A recently appointed administrator in the estate of singer Glen Campbell is disputing more than $1.3 million in claims filed by his widow Kimberly.
In a series of filings in Davidson Probate Court, Blaine H. Smith has challenged five separate claims filed by Kimberly Campbell, who is also the administrator of the estate. The items challenged include funds spent to place Campbell in an assisted living facility in the months before his Aug. 17, 2017 death.
Smith was appointed in September by Probate Court Judge David Randy Kennedy as a special administrator to review the five claims submitted by Kimberly Campbell since the estate was opened in 2017.
Among the claims Smith deemed to be defective was a $330,609.93 filing for medical expenses for Campbell who died following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. The largest single claim challenged was for $506,380.93.
A $301,408 claim, also disputed, seeks reimbursement to payoff a mortgage held on a property owned in California. The property has since been sold.
Smith said that one of the claims Kimberly filed was for a $175,771 payment made from a joint checking account with her husband. As a result Smith stated that she might be eligible for partial reimbursement, but not the entire amount.
Another claim, Smith's motion stated, appeared to be inconsistent with a spreadsheet submitted to justify the claim.
Other objections included claims for unspecified items charged to a credit card "with no particularity."
In other recent action in the estate, a new lawyer, David J. Callahan of Nashville, has entered an appearance for three of Campbell's children who are disputing the will filed by Kimberly. That will specifically excludes the three from any inheritance.
The prior attorney, Christopher Fowler, withdrew in September.
Kennedy recently approved the payment of $16,000 for an expert to estimate the future value of Campbell's royalties.
A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 21 on the challenges filed by Smith.
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