If the OJ Simpson estate goes to court, Goldman, the Brown families could be first in line

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) – OJ Simpson died Thursday without paying the lion’s share of the $33.5 million judgment awarded by a California jury to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman .

Acquitted of criminal charges, Simpson was found guilty by a jury in a 1997 wrongful-death trial.

The public may be scrutinizing Simpson’s finances, and the families may have a better chance of collecting – if there is anything to collect.

Here’s how the next few months could play out.

SOLUTION EAR

Whether he left a will or not, and whatever that document says, Simpson’s estate will now have to go through what’s called a probate process in court before his children. four or other intended heirs may collect from any of them.

Different states have different probate laws. Generally, the case is filed in the county where the person lived at the time of death. In Simpson’s case it is Nevada. But if the valuable property is in California or Florida, where he lived at different times, different cases may arise there.

Nevada law states that an estate must go through probate if its assets exceed $20,000, or if assets are involved, and this must be done within 30 days of death. If the family fails to submit the documents, the creditors themselves can start the process.

ADDITIONAL POWER TOO DEATH?

Once the case is in court, creditors who claim they are owed money can claim a piece of property. The Goldman and Brown families will be equal to other creditors, and will likely have an even stronger claim.

Under California law, creditors who hold judgment loans as plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit are considered secured creditors, and have priority over unsecured creditors. And they are in a better position to be paid than they were before the defendant’s death.

Arash Sadat, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in estate disputes, says it is “100% better” for the plaintiff to die and his money to go to probate.

He said his firm had a court case where their clients received a $9 million jury award that 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 after a few weeks, the property reduced check for $12 million. That’s 9 million dollars in profit and loss that I had accumulated during this period.”

A judge or executor has more leverage to pay debts than a living person. “That is why you see such things happening,” said Sadat.

But of course that does not mean that payment will come.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult for them to collect,” said attorney Christopher Melcher. We don’t know how much money OJ has been able to earn over the years.

Neither Sadat nor Melcher are involved in the Simpson case or the court case.

WHAT DID SIMPSON HAVE?

Simpson said he was living off his NFL and private pension. Hundreds of valuables were taken as part of the court’s award, and Simpson was forced to auction his Heisman Trophy, earning $230,000.

Goldman’s father Fred Goldman, the lead prosecutor, always said that the issue was never about money, it was just about holding Simpson accountable. And he said in a statement Thursday that with Simpson’s death, “hope for true accountability is gone.”

WHAT ABOUT TRUST?

There are ways in which a person can use trusts established during their lifetime and other ways to ensure that the designated heirs receive their property at death. If such trust is irreversible, it can be very strong.

But transfers of assets to others to avoid creditors can be considered fraudulent, and lenders like Goldman and Brown can file various civil lawsuits that bring those assets into conflict.

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