Leona Helmseys dog gets inheritance reduced by $10million

Posted by Mittie Cheatwood on Sunday, May 26, 2024


The Maltese terrier that inherited US $12 million from her owner Leona Helmsley, has had his inheritance cut by $10 million. Trouble, the dog in question, will have to live out his remaining life with only $2 million in spending money.

Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Renee Roth accepted a settlement between Helmsley’s heirs and the New York State Attorney General’s office that cuts Trouble’s inheritance from $12 million to $2 million on the grounds that Helmsley was mentally unfit when she made her will.

The ruling was made on April 30 and became public yesterday.

The settlement also awarded Helmsley’s two grandchildren, Craig Panzirer and Meegan Panzirer Wesolko, $6 million.

They had been cut out of her will “for reasons which are known to them”, the document said.

New Zealand Herald

Trouble is nine years old, and wasn’t the only beneficiary of the will to have some funds cut, to share with Leona’s grandchildren.

Trouble’s expenses, in case you are thinking about pampering a maltese, include $100,000 for security, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $1,200 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

Her carer, Carl Levick, is the general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel in Florida. He is paid $60,000 a year to care for the dog.

Trouble is now nine years old. Levick says that $2 million would be enough money to care for Trouble for “more than 10 years, which is more that twice her reasonably anticipated life expectancy.” I suspect that if a human had inherited the money, this would not have been settled so easily. We humans don’t like to give up our cash.

Leona was once quoted as having said “only the little people pay taxes”, she later spent 18 months in federal prison for evading $1.7 million in taxes in 1989.

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