Surviving spouse Marlene Ramallo Cooke had several legal options. She could contest the validity of the will, suggesting that the testator was not of sound mind when he prepared the last codicil. Or she could file to take a one-third statutory share against the will. Under Virginia law a spouse normally can choose between a one-third statutory share or the bequest given in the will of the deceased spouse. Here, however, the widow had executed a prenuptial agreement relinquishing her right to take the statutory share. Marlene would have to argue, as she did, that the prenuptial agreement was invalid because she was coerced to sign it shortly before her marriage. Her position was weakened considerably when the Attorney General of Virginia intervened in the Circuit Court on behalf of the Foundation and its beneficiaries: students, orphans and children abandoned by their parents. The AG maintained that Marlene Cooke’s attempt to undermine the prenuptial agreement was not well founded; she had signed it of her free will and she should be bound by it.
The bulk of Sinatra’s estate was contained in a living trust, which is not vulnerable to probate and, therefore, does not become a public document.
Power of Attorney
Durable Power of Attorney – A document by which one individual gives a power to another to act, and which specifically states that the document will not be rendered ineffective by a future disability.
True ownership of the estate was unknown nor was it clear where the estate should be properly probated, what it was worth or what its debts were. Matters were further complicated by numerous forged wills; a $50 million law suit launched by Lummis against Chester Davis and other aides of Hughes accusing them of manipulating a sick Hughes to further their personal interests; accusations that Lummis law firm had lost or destroyed the Hughes will; claims by various girlfriends and deeply unresolved federal and state inheritance tax issues.