Susan Williams with her late husband Robin Williams in 2012. Photo/Getty
Susan Williams with her late husband Robin Williams in 2012. Photo/Getty
Robin Williams' widow Susan Schneider and his children are due in court today in a nasty legal battle over the comedian's clothes and other personal items he kept in the house where he committed suicide last August.
Susan wants to bar Zachary, Zelda and Cody from taking anything that wasin their father's Tiburon, California, home - claiming it all belongs to her. Attorney Jim Wagstaffe says she would like to keep her wedding presents, the tuxedo Williams wore at their wedding, and photographs from his 60th birthday.
She also says some of Williams' personal items were taken from his home without her permission.
The children say that their step-mother - the actor's third wife - is "adding insult to a terrible injury" by trying to change the trust and rob them of the late actor's possessions.
As per the actor's will, his three grown children - age 31, 25 and 23 - will get most of his jewellery, memorabilia and other belongings, including his awards.
However, Susan Williams is asking a judge to exclude the belongings in their "marital home" in Tiburon from the list of belongings the children are allowed to take.
Most of Williams' US$50 million estate goes to his children. Susan, who married Williams in 2011, had a pre-nup agreement that gives her a slice of his fortune and the home outside San Francisco, where he died on August 11.
Susan Williams' attorney said she was only seeking guidance from the court about the meaning of certain terms in the trust.
Williams died at his home in Tiburon north of San Francisco in August. The coroner ruled his death a suicide.
Susan Williams has said the actor and comedian was struggling with depression, anxiety and a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Williams' trust granted his children his memorabilia and awards in the entertainment industry among other particular personal items, according to court documents.
Susan Williams says that because he wanted her to continue to live at the Tiburon home, it makes sense that he intended only for his children to have the specific personal items he delineated that were kept at another home he owned in Napa.
The two sides also disagree over items put in storage, watches Williams owned and his memorabilia.
