June 12, 2024 marked 30 years since Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered in Brentwood, California. Simpson was accused and acquitted in a criminal trial but found legally responsible in a civil lawsuit. A $33.5 million civil wrongful death judgment was obtained in 1997 against Simpson and, with interest, has grown to over $100 million. He was convicted of a 2007 robbery of sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. He was sentenced to between nine and 33 years behind bars, and was released from Nevada prison in 2017. Simpson died on April 10 of prostate cancer at age 76.
According to legal filings, Simpson only ever paid the Goldman family $133,000 since they obtained their judgment against him. The families have publicly stated that they will try to collect anything they can from Simpson’s estate. They will be scrutinizing trusts and possibly filing in Nevada probate court to chase the money.
Simpson’s pensions, combined with his Florida homestead, allowed him to live comfortably despite the Brown-Goldman judgment. Simpson dodged paying the Goldmans by declaring bankruptcy in Florida, and his annual NFL pension was protected from debt collection claims. Whatever assets Simpson did have at the end of his life — and that includes real-estate holdings in Florida, a debtor-friendly state — will now be subject to a probate process in court.
Probate court is designed to resolve someone’s assets and liabilities after their death and to distribute funds to “creditors and beneficiaries.” Simpson’s assets will be taken over by a probate court. Generally, the case is filed in the state where the person was living when they died — Nevada, in this instance. But if significant assets are in California or Florida, where Simpson also lived at various times, separate cases could emerge there.
Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s attorney and now executor of his estate, sent a letter to lawyers for the Brown and Goldman families regarding their civil judgments against O.J. He allegedly invited them to a meeting to discuss their probate claims against the estate. What, if anything, the Brown and Goldman families receive will depend on the amount, nature or type and title to assets held at the time of Simpson’s death.
While Simpson may have done everything he could to avoid paying either family anything, transfers of assets to others that are made to avoid creditors can be deemed fraudulent, and claimants like the Goldman and Brown families can file separate civil lawsuits that bring those assets into dispute.
The millions owed to the Goldmans and Browns have a judgment lien and are deemed “secured debt” meaning they get paid before creditors with unsecured debt.
Simpson’s will was filed in a Clark County court in Nevada on April 12, naming his longtime lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne, as the executor and Simpson’s son Justin Simpson being named as his successor.
Simpson requested his property be placed into The Orenthal Simpson Revocable Living Trust, and the will reads that it would be “administered as set forth herein without litigation or dispute of any kind” and that if a beneficiary, heir “or any other person” seeks to “set aside the administration of this Will, have this Will declared null, void or diminish, or to defeat any change any part of the provisions of this will,” that they’d “receive, free of trust, one dollar ($1.00) and no more in lieu of any claimed interest in this will or its assets.”
The document shows Simpson’s property was placed into a trust that was created this year. LaVergne said that the entirety of Simpson’s estate has not been tallied. Under Nevada law, an estate must go through the courts if its assets exceed $20,000.
The Goldman and Brown families will be on equal footing with other creditors and will probably have an even stronger claim, as Simpson’s estate is settled under terms established by the trust created in January.
LaVergne initially said he planned to fight payouts to the families of Brown and Goldman but has since backpedaled remarks suggesting he would block any claims for settlement money from Ron Goldman’s and Nicole Brown’s family members.
If you have questions about an estate plan, trust, probate or will, contact The Law Offices of Max J. Paul today at 561-807-1977.