A year after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash, the succession of the former NBA star is still unresolved and has given rise to several legal battles.
The emotion remains as strong a year to the day after the tragedy and the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others.
The brutal death of the five-time NBA champion and ex-Lakers star has also raised questions about his legacy and how his widow, Vanessa, and loved ones can benefit from it.
In addition to real estate and in particular their house in California or several second homes, Vanessa Bryant pocketed the profits related to the financial investments made by Kobe Bryant during his lifetime. And first, the 38-year-old widow inherited her stake (10% stake) in the BodyArmor company, or around $ 200 million (165 million euros) in shares.
The last daughter of Kobe not present in the will
For a year, Vanessa Bryant has therefore been managing the assets of her late husband as the main beneficiary of his inheritance. But the former basketball player’s widow is required to keep some of it for her three surviving daughters. Well, not exactly.
The youngest of the Bryant family, little Capri, does not appear in her father’s will. Kobe Bryant had not yet amended the document to include his youngest daughter, born nine months before the helicopter crash. Faced with this imbroglio, Vanessa Bryant is scrambling to have the rights of Capri, now aged one and a half, legally recognized, and has even taken legal action in this regard.
Kobe’s stepmom sues daughter
Still deeply marked by the death of her husband and daughter Gianna, Vanessa Bryant must face a sad legal battle with her own mother. Sofia Laine also plans to get her piece of the pie. The mother-in-law of the « Black Mamba » thus claims to have received the promise to see her son-in-law take care of her financially.
Discarded from the will, she has decided to sue her daughter and demands compensation. Thrown out of the family home by Vanessa Bryant, shortly after Kobe’s death, Sofia Laine also asks for recognition for the years she worked as an assistant and nanny for her granddaughters.
Charges brushed aside by Vanessa Bryant in a statement in mid-December: « She was a grandmother who was supported by me and her son-in-law at my request, Kobe’s widow claimed. She now wants to charge me $ 96. the hour for allegedly working 12 hours a day for 18 years babysitting her grandchildren. In fact, she only babysat my older daughters occasionally when they were little. 10 years ago our children were students and full-time athletes and I didn’t have any more children until 2016. His claims are patently wrong, but I’ve tried, time and time again, to sort things out with my mom. »
