With a screen persona that was always wacky, unpredictable, and in his heyday, considered ground-breaking, we now see the private side of Jerry Lewis, because his will is a public document.
It’s no laughing matter. Because he left behind a will, the world knows that funnyman Jerry Lewis, who died at age 91 with an estate worth about $50 million, made some very deliberate decisions with regard to his children. As a result, reports Forbes in the article “Jerry Lewis Disinherited 5 of His Kids, And Here's Why We Know,” some family issues that we might never have known about, are now very public.
Specifically, we know that one of the provisions in Lewis' will states:
“I have intentionally excluded GARY LEWIS, RONALD LEWIS, ANTHONY JOSEPH LEWIS, CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH LEWIS, SCOTT ANTHONY LEWIS and JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER LEWIS and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate, it being my intention that they shall receive no benefits hereunder.”
Jerry used the word "intentionally" intentionally. It’s clear what he was doing. If a will is vague or hard to interpret, ascertaining the testator’s intent can be a challenge. However, Lewis was crystal clear that he wanted to disinherit the six children he named in the will. To top it off, he made certain that his intentions are clear by adding "and their descendants."
The couple’s sixth child, Joseph, died of a drug overdose in 2009. Lewis and his first wife were married for 36 years. Gary, one of their children, went on to become a successful musician.
Lewis makes no mention of why he decided to disinherit all the children from his first marriage. Legally, it doesn't matter. He had the right to distribute his assets the way he wanted.
Lewis’s estate will be passed to his widow, SanDee Pitnick. Next in line to inherit his fortune, should something happen to his wife, is his 25-year-old adopted daughter Danielle. He named his wife as his personal representative.
Lewis is believed to have left behind some real money in the form of his intellectual property. Jerry owned almost all of his most famous films outright, including 'Cinderfella,' 'The Nutty Professor' and 'Hardly Working.'
It would not have been that difficult for Lewis to keep his private life private. An estate planning attorney could have helped him create a trust, or multiple trusts, to reduce or even eliminate estate taxes, spare his family the cost and time of the probate process and avoid the public’s learning about his decisions regarding his adult children.
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