LOS ANGELES – LOS ANGELES (AP) — OJ Simpson died Wednesday without having paid most of the $33.5 million judgment a California civil jury awarded to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
Acquitted in a criminal trial, Simpson was found responsible by jurors in a 1997 wrongful-death case.
The public will now likely get a closer look at Simpson’s finances, and families will likely have a better chance of raising money — if there is anything to raise at all.
See what the next few months will look like.
Whether he left a will or not, and whatever the document says, Simpson’s estate will now almost certainly have to go through what is known as the probate process in court before his four children or other heirs can collect any one of them.
Different states have different probate laws. Generally, the case is opened in the state where the person lived when they died. In Simpson’s case, it’s Nevada. But if significant assets are in California or Florida, where he also lived at various times, separate cases could arise there.
Nevada law says that an estate must go through the courts if your assets exceed $20,000, or if there is any real estate involved, and it must be done within 30 days of death. If a family does not present documents, creditors themselves can initiate the process.
Once the case is brought to court, creditors who claim they are owed money can then request a share of the assets. The Goldman and Brown families will be at least on an equal footing with other creditors and will likely have even stronger claims.
Under California law, creditors who hold a judgment lien, such as plaintiffs in a wrongful death case, are considered to have secured debt and have priority over creditors with unsecured debt. And they are in a better position to receive payment than they were before the defendant’s death.
Arash Sadat, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in property disputes, says it is “100%” better for the plaintiff if the debtor is deceased and his money is in probate.
He said his company had a jury trial in which his clients received a $9 million settlement, which the debtor appealed and delayed indefinitely.
“He did everything he could to avoid paying this debt,” Sadat said. “Three or four years later, he died. And within weeks, the estate sends a check for $12 million. That’s the $9 million plus interest I’ve accumulated over that time.”
The executor or administrator of the estate has much more incentive to waive debts than the living person. “That’s why we see things like this happening,” Sadat said.
But of course this does not mean that payment will be made.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult for them to collect,” said attorney Christopher Melcher. “We don’t know how much OJ has been able to earn over the years.”
Neither Sadat nor Melcher are involved with Simpson’s estate or the court case.
Simpson said he lived solely off the NFL and private pensions. Hundreds of valuable possessions were seized as part of the jury prize, and Simpson was forced to auction off his Heisman Trophy, raising $230,000.
Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, the lead plaintiff, has always said the issue was never the money, but just holding Simpson accountable. And he said in a statement Thursday that with Simpson’s death, “hope for true accountability is over.”
There are ways a person can use trusts established during their lifetime and other methods to ensure their chosen heirs receive their assets after death. If such trust is irrevocable, it may be especially strong.
But transfers of assets to third parties that are made to avoid creditors can be considered fraudulent, and plaintiffs like the Goldman and Brown families can file separate civil lawsuits that put those assets in dispute.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
