Distant relatives who rarely saw her are waging fight for copper heiress Huguette Clark's $300m estate, which she doled out to lawyer, doctor, accountant, caregivers.
"The relatives are contesting that will, claiming that Mrs. Clark was coerced into changing it by people around her, who, along with the hospital, kept her dependent and exploited her age and vulnerability. The beneficiaries, however, say she was a stubborn, strong-willed woman who did only what she wanted to do. If settlement talks fail and the case goes to trial — jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 17 — it will touch on issues that many families face. How is wealth transferred in later generations? What does an elderly person owe relatives who hardly knew her and did not take care of her in her dotage, as opposed to the hired help who did? Do family ties still bind between people who have never even met?" -- Anemona Hartocollis, the New York Times
