The Last Will and Testament of OJ Simpson was filed in a Nevada court last week, following the death of the 76-year-old former NFL player and accused murderer.
The man who has been named as the executor says he is unsure what or how much is in the estate and to which creditors money will go to settle Simpson’s significant debts.
The seven page document places the entirety of Simpson’s estate in a trust created in late January of this year, which is now under the control of Simpson’s long-time attorney Malcom LaVergne, who was named as the executor of the Will.
LaVergne, who represented Simpson in a number of legal proceedings following his conviction on charges related to a violet Vegas robbery in 2007, has spoken publicly about the estate.
Malcolm LaVerge, OJ Simpson’s long-time attorney, was named the executor of his Last Will and Testament
In an interview with KTNV Las Vegas, LaVergne said that Simpson’s estate will now enter the probate process, a complex legal exercise that will require the expert opinion of attorneys trained in estate law.
LaVergne said the family of the late convict are currently in funeral planning mode, and have just scratched the surface of dealing with the estate.
Simpson died owing a significant amount of money to the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson – the two murder victims he was accused of killing in 1994.
Simpson was acquitted of the murders, but later told by a civil court that he must pay the families $33million.
Some 25 years after the murders, that figure has ballooned to $100million.
It is not, however, clear that either family will see a cent of Simpson’s estate.
According to LaVergne, Simpson died owing a considerable amount to the IRS, a creditor he says will come ahead of ‘publicity creditors’ – a reference to the Goldman family – in the ‘pecking order.’
According to ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams, said Monday morning that once Simpson’s estate has been entirely accounted for, it will be an easier process for creditors to claim what they are owed.
The Goldman family have, over time, received just about $130,000 of the many millions they are owed.
Simpson (right) pictured alongside LaVerne during a parole hearing in 2017. Simpson died last week following a cancer battle
LaVergne said he hopes the Goldman family get ‘nothing.’
‘It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing. Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing,’ he told the Las Vegas Review Journal last week.
It is unclear why LaVergne has such animus toward the Goldman family.
Abrams explained that, despite LaVergne’s role as the executor of the Will, he may not end up having any specific control over who gets payouts and when.
For their part, the Goldman family appear adamant as ever about continuing to pursue the money they are owed.
Debt collection attorney David Cook said following Simpson’s death: ‘We have to start over here. We’re going to work on that. There might be something out there.
‘We’ve had this problem for a long long time,’ he added. ‘It could be in a trust, it could be probate. It could be all gone.’
The lawyer added, ‘I’m in San Francisco. The lawyers we hired in Nevada, they were working with me … At this point, we’re just starting out.’
All of Simpson’s other property was placed into a trust in January, though the full value of said property has not been tallied.
‘I can’t make a predication right now as to what the value of the estate is,’ LaVergne said, adding that he was surprised to be named the executor of the Will.
‘I am flummoxed as to why he would name me as the personal representative or the executor, but he did, and it’s something I’m going to take very seriously.’
Simpson is believed to have lived on his NFL and private pensions.
Simpson (pictured here at the conclusion of his 1995 murder trial, which ended with an innocent verdict for him), has paid just over $133,000 to the Goldman family since he was ordered in a 1997 civil trial to pay them more than $33million
OJ Simpson was found liable in civil court for $33.5 million for the murders of Ron Goldman and ex-wife Nicole Simpson in 1997
Fred Goldman, now 83, is still seething at Simpson’s ability to avoid paying his civil judgement and told DailyMail.com earlier in the week that the focus should be on his son’s death, not OJ’s.
‘The only thing that I have to say is that this is a further reminder of the loss of my son Ron.
‘It is a further reminder of my son’s murder and a reminder about the many years we have missed Ron.
‘His death is a reminder that Ron and Nicole were murdered by him. I am not going react to my thoughts about him dying. I have nothing to say about him. My response will not be about OJ’s death but about the loss of my son’s life by him. Thank you for calling. That is the only thing that I have to say.’
Now that the former NFL star has died, Cook said they will be scrutinizing trusts and possibly filing in Nevada probate court to chase the money.
‘I’ve done this work for 47 years. We don’t know what’s in Nevada. We’ve had this problem for a long, long time,’ he said.
‘You can be shocked, you can walk up on something and say there’s nothing there.’
