This was published 3 months ago
Battle over Virginia Giuffre’s multimillion-dollar estate lands in WA’s Supreme Court
The battle over the estate of Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre intensified in Western Australia’s Supreme Court on Friday after a registrar signalled her husband and other previously uninvolved figures may need to be brought into the increasingly messy dispute.
The legal fight centres on Giuffre’s two teenage sons, her long-time Perth-based lawyer and her former housekeeper, who are all contesting who should inherit and control her estate following her sudden death in April.
Giuffre, who received a widely reported £12 million ($24 million) out-of-court settlement from disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2022, died without a valid will, leaving the future of her assets in dispute.
A statement of claim filed in September shows her estate has a listed value of at least $500,000, which included company shares, trust interests, two vehicles, jewellery, a horse and her Neergabby farm property in the WA Wheatbelt.
Her sons Christian and Noah applied to be appointed administrators, but this was challenged by a counter-claim in the Supreme Court from Guiffre’s lawyer, Karrie Louden, and her carer, Cheryl Myers.
Their counter-claim includes what they say is an informal will created by Giuffre weeks before her death, with handwritten notes they argue record her true wishes, including naming Louden and Myers as her executors.
The son’s filings argue their mother lacked “testamentary capacity” when the informal will was created.
Registrar Danielle Davies told the court on Friday that Giuffre’s former husband, Robert Giuffre, had earlier signed a consent form to not be part of proceedings when the matter was not contested.
Now that the counter-claim could affect his entitlements, Davies told the court Robert should now be notified and given a chance to take part.
She instructed the sons’ lawyer to correct technical issues in their paperwork and to notify any other people who may be affected before the court would consider further orders.
The matter is expected to return to court in the new year, once the amended documents have been filed and the correct people notified.
A writ filed earlier to the Supreme Court reveals Perth lawyer Ian Torrington Blatchford has been appointed as interim administrator of the estate.
He will act as Giuffre’s legal personal representative in any legal matters she was still involved in at the time of her death.
Blatchford told this masthead he was “standing in Virginia’s shoes”, but said it was too early to comment further.
Because Giuffre died without a will, several international legal cases had paused.
One of the major matters is a defamation lawsuit in New York brought by artist Rina Oh, who is seeking $US10 million over statements she claims wrongly portrayed her as an Epstein accomplice rather than a victim.
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Carla Hildebrandt is a journalist with WAtoday. She previously worked on ABC’s Four Corners and as a court reporter at The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. For secure contact: carlahildebrandt@proton.me.Connect via email.