By Ericka Blount Danois on Oct 16th 2010 12:00PM
Filed under: Photos, Gossip, Football
As if the family of
Steve McNair hasn't suffered enough, his widow has had to wrestle with the courts to unfreeze the bulk of his assets which were frozen because
he died without a will. She recently won a request to get $2.5 million from the late
NFL quarterback's estate. He is survived by four sons and his wife,
Mechelle McNair (pictured above). Two of his sons were from a previous relationship.
Last July, he was
found dead of multiple gunshot wounds alongside the body of a woman,
Sahel Kazemi, in his rented condominium. McNair had been shot twice in the body and twice in the head. Kazemi had a single gunshot to the head, which was proved to have been fired from a gun that was held at her temple. The murder was ruled a murder/suicide and Kazemi as the perpetrator.
The estate of McNair, who played 11 seasons with the
Tennessee Titans and two with the
Baltimore Ravens, was initially valued at $19.6 million. The bulk of his assets have been frozen since his death.
He was 36 years old when he died.
This underscores the point that it is never too early to draw up a will. Even if it's not an official one.
Heath Ledger died without updating his will to include his daughter.
Michael Jackson died without a will, and we all know the mess (
Joe Jackson mostly) and custody battles, that is ongoing with that.
In most cases, surviving children or spouses will inherit the estate, but it's ultimately up to the state to decide. It would seem that this should be part of the contract signing process for professional athletes and celebrities.
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Comments: (11)
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By: Vera on 10/19/2010 2:24PM
MJ died with a will. He actually had two and the last one was mentioned all over in the papers after he died, specifying who should take care of his children and how his money should be handled once he died. Please do your research.
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By: westfall on 10/16/2010 2:56PM
This article is so right on about getting a will prepared. Also a living trust. You want to keep the courts out of your assests. I had a will and a living trust done for my family, and I feel good about that. So sad about Mechele. God bless her and her children and I pray that this legal thing will be all over soon so that she can move ahead with her life.
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By: ARNEADER on 10/17/2010 12:47AM
Steve and his wife were not together so...it was good he didn't have a will. She may have to wait but at least she wasn't cut out by a CHEATING HUSBAND!
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By: xxtao2 on 10/17/2010 9:48AM
The estate of McNair, who played 11 seasons with the Tennessee Titans and two with the Baltimore Ravens, was initially valued at $19.6 million. The bulk of his assets have been frozen since his death.I am female, 20,a young and big beautiful woman in US,i just wonder if i can meet a man who can love me here,because i am single at present and i need someone’s support..i uploaded my hot photos on kissbbw.com under the name nancy099,maybe you want to check out my photos first!
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By: Sissy Holcolmb on 10/16/2010 3:32PM
How sad. Why a court battle? She was his wife, if no one else is fighting to seek anything, why waste tax payers money....Off the dough.
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By: poetrysez on 10/16/2010 3:50PM
I remember when he and this woman died. It was all over the news. Is Ms. Kazemi's family suing his estate? Since she's the one who supposedly shot him then herself...can her family still sue his estate?
It just seems impossible for the court to hold on to an estate...when the man was married and have children. It makes me wonder if there's some other reason that the court froze his estate.
I honestly thought that if there was no will then the wife and children get the estate...unless it's tied up in court by other relatives contesting the estates decision to make the wife and kids owner of the estate.
McNair has 4 children...is the mother of his other 2 children contesting the estate?
Because of your last paragraph-I’m assuming that McNair was married when he signed his football contract and I thought ALL employers require that you fill out a beneficiary form. This is very odd and I believe there is more to this story then is being released to the public.
What this situation does is brings to light the importance of having a will.
McNair's wife probably thought the same thing most people believe...that marriage and children supersede everything else. Or maybe she thought there was a will.
This is truly a sad situation and I wish his wife and children have suffered enough-hopefully this issue is resolved soon.
I know this can happen to any race but I know for a fact-that most Black folks doesn’t like thinking about the “ what if’s” because it reminds us of our mortality…which is a part of life-but most of us doesn’t like addressing that part.
Not only the wealthy should've a will. For example...cousin Earl always admired certain jewery...then will it to him or a certain relative is your favorite because they always come by to see how you're doing...will certain things just to that relative.
You'll be surprised by the way some folks behave-once a loved one has passed on. Relatives go to the house and start grabbing stuff and before you know it-your home looks like no one ever lived in it because everything is wiped out-even the welcome mat.
I've seen this type of behavior within a lot of families-not mine because we seem to have our affairs in order but most folks knows that this is real.
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By: poetrysez on 10/16/2010 3:58PM
I remember when he and this woman died. It was all over the news. Is Ms. Kazemi's family suing his estate? Since she's the one who supposedly shot him then herself...can her family still sue his estate?
It just seems impossible for the court to hold on to an estate...when the man was married and have children. It makes me wonder if there's some other reason that the court froze his estate.
I honestly thought that if there was no will then the wife and children get the estate...unless it's tied up in court by other relatives contesting the estates decision to make the wife and kids owner of the estate.
McNair has 4 children...is the mother of his other 2 children contesting the estate?
Because of your last paragraph-I’m assuming that McNair was married when he signed his football contract and I thought ALL employers require that you fill out a beneficiary form. This is very odd and I believe there is more to this story then is being released to the public.
What this situation does is brings to light the importance of having a will.
McNair's wife probably thought the same thing most people believe...that marriage and children supersede everything else. Or maybe she thought there was a will.
This is truly a sad situation and his wife and children have suffered enough-hopefully this issue is resolved soon.
I know this can happen to any race but I know for a fact-that most Black folks doesn’t like thinking about the “what if’s” because it reminds us of our mortality…which is a part of life-but most of us doesn’t like addressing that part.
Not only the wealthy should've a will. For example...cousin Earl always admired certain jewelry...then will it to him or if a certain relative is your favorite because they always come by to see how you're doing...will certain things just to that relative.
You'll be surprised by the way some folks behave-once a loved one has passed on. Relatives go to the house and start grabbing stuff and before you know it-your home looks like no one ever lived in it because everything is wiped out-even the welcome mat.
I've seen this type of behavior within a lot of families-not mine because we seem to have our affairs in order but most folks know that this is real.
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By: ask me on 10/16/2010 5:55PM
If u would like to make a claim against his estate you could. Anybody who alleges that McNair owed them money has the right to make a claim and it is up to the courts to decide. McNair was an idiot as was Michael Jackson not to have their affairs in order. As for Joe Jackson he is a very shrewd business person so he is just looking out for the best interest of himself and the family. If he didn't step in the lawyers would probably end up with the bulk of the estate.Joe was never the bad guy as he was responsible for the success of the entire family. While we may not agree with his alleged methods you cannot dispute his results. He never tried to be his childrens friend but he was always a father. If there were more fathers like Joe Jackson there would be less blackmen incarcerated.
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By: carlson on 10/16/2010 4:37PM
THIS IS SAD AND MY PRAYERS GOES OUT TO MECHELLE AND THE KIDS. SISSY HOLCOLMB, I WAS WONDERING THE SAME THING WHY IS THE STATE INVOLVED? I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT A POOR PERSON NEEDING A WILL BUT I GUESS EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ONE.
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By: Jaye on 10/17/2010 11:18PM
Arneader,
Steve and his wife were still together when they died. He, of course told the other woman, his murderer, that they were in the process of a divorce but they were still living together at the time of his death. His wife didn't even know about the other woman until he died.
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