After laying her famous sister to rest at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, Tennessee, next to her late husband Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s younger sister, Freida, 69, admitted, “Like all sisters, we definitely had our share of arguments and disagreements throughout the years, but even through all the highs and lows, and all the laughter and tears, I never stopped loving her.”
And according to a source, the superstar feared her loved ones would end up fighting again over her rumoured $900 million fortune when she passed.
“Dolly always kept her family close,” a family insider tells Woman’s Day.
“They had their ups and downs, but always came together when Dolly ordered them to. “She’s taken very good care of all of them – the last thing she would want is any kind of catfight or lawsuit over her spoils. After Carl died, she made it clear to her family what would be happening so there’d be no upsets, like there were after their dad died.”
A family feud turns ugly
A legal feud erupted among the siblings following the death of their father Robert Lee in 2000, after their mother Avie Parton was left with $1.94 million.
“It was a conservatorship battle that turned ugly after he had a stroke in 2000. Dolly and her siblings filed to take legal care of their parents, but when he didn’t survive, it became about caring for their mum,” says the source.
“Most of the children, including Dolly, were on the side of their mother’s doctor, who didn’t think she could take care of herself, but twins Floyd and Freida sided with their mum Avie. They hired a Knoxville lawyer and Avie fought it as a loss of independence. “It wasn’t what any of them needed – they were all heartbroken – but it didn’t look good for Dolly’s Coat Of Many Colors family image – they filed while their dad was dying, then kept going as their mum buried him.”
According to the insider, this went on for nearly three years, until it became clear that Avie needed extra care.
“By 2003, Dolly announced that the family was finally united in caring for their mother, which was a small blessing as she would pass away at the end of that year.”
Where there’s a will
Determined for history not to repeat, Dolly dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s with her own will planning.
“If you look at her husband’s will, it folded his estate into the Carl Thomas Dean Trust with Dolly as trustee. If she had died first, household stuff was to be split among five of his nieces and nephews, and 14 of hers,” says the source.
“Dolly is survived by six siblings, plus a huge niece-and-nephew circle. Miley [Cyrus] is her goddaughter, not an heir, but it’s likely Dolly left her some valuable memorabilia like a guitar, one of her wig collections or some historic wardrobe items.”
Battle of wills!
Prince
The singer left behind a $303 million fortune when he died in 2016 at age 57. But the star didn’t have a will in place, sparking a six-year legal and tax battle over his estate between his six half-siblings that finally ended in a settlement.
Aretha Franklin
When the star passed in 2018, she did not have a formal will in place. Now, eight years later, her four sons remain locked in a legal battle over the unreleased recordings, music rights, legal fees and personal property in her $156 million estate.
Jimi Hendrix
The guitarist died in 1970 at 27 without a will, leading to a complex estate battle. His father Al Hendrix inherited his estate and left it to his stepdaughter from a second marriage. Jimi’s closest relative, his brother Leon, got nothing.
Bob Marley
Bob died in 1981 aged 36 without a will. Under Jamaican law, his widow Rita and 11 children became beneficiaries. After decades of legal battles and rights buybacks, the family collectively controls his lucrative musical empire.
