A Look at Whitney's Will: Who Gets the Money if Bobbi Kristina Dies?

UPDATE: Unfortunatley, Bobbi Kristina Brown's death was announced on Sunday, July 26, 2015. Our deepest condolences go out to her family and friends.

As the Houston and Brown families pray for a miracle, medical experts suggest that Bobbi Kristina Brown has very little chance of recovery. The daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub at her Georgia home on January 31. After months in a hospital, her grandmother, Cissy Houston stated that Bobbi Kristina has global and irreversible brain damage and has remained unresponsive since January 31. Bobbi Kristina first received treatment at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. In March, she was relocated to an undisclosed rehabilitation facility. Finally, on June 24 she was transferred to Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia. Her family issued a statement thanking “everyone for their support and prayers. She is in God’s hands now."

Three years prior to Bobbi Kristina’s medical emergency, on February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found face down in a water-filled bathtub with drug paraphernalia nearby. The Coroner’s report indicates that she died of accidental drowning.

On February 3, 1993, approximately one month prior to Bobbi Kristina’s birth, Whitney signed her Last Will and Testament. After signing her will in 1993, Whitney made one change to her will when she signed a codicil (an amendment to the will), dated April 14, 2000. The significant change was that Whitney removed her lawyer as the executor of her will and appointed her mother as executor. After Whitney’s death, the probate court, with agreement from the Houston family, appointed Whitney’s sister-in-law and former manager, Pat Houston, to become executor.

BOBBI KRISTINA WAS THE SOLE BENEFICIARY TO WHITNEY'S ESTATE

According the will, Bobbi Kristina, Whitney's only child, was the sole beneficiary of her fortune. Sadly, with Bobbi Kristina's unlikely recovery, many have questioned, “who gets Whitney and Bobbi Kristina’s money?” Whitney's estate, which is reported to be between $12 million and $20 million, is difficult to define. While rumors of financial trouble hounded Whitney in her final years, music royalties have poured in since her death. It has been noted, "luckily for Bobbi Kristina, the spike in sales after Whitney’s death led to enough money to pay off Whitney’s $20 million in debts, and created another $20 million in net worth for the estate."

The will stipulated that instead of inheriting all of the money at once, Bobbi Kristina would receive the money in payments spread over nine years: 10 percent at age 21, a 1/6 of the pricipal at 25 and the remainder at age 30. At present, Bobbi Kristina has only recieved the first distribution, equalling 10 percent of her trust.

BOBBY BROWN GETS NOTHING FROM WHITNEY'S ESTATE

Whitney and Bobby were married for 14 years. Bobby Brown was named a beneficiary under certain conditions, however their divorce in 2007 nullified Bobby’s claim to her estate. Shirley Whitenack, an estate planning attorney with Schenck, Price, Smith & King in Morristown, says “Bobby Brown's time to contest anything would have been at the time of Whitney's death. He doesn't have any claim just by virtue of having been married to her." More importantly, Bobbi’s Kristina’s inheritance, that is still in trust, does NOT go to her next of kin. The will stipulates that if the beneficiary (Bobbi Kristina) does not live to reach 30, the trust ends. That means any money due her goes back into the trust.

WHITNEY'S MOTHER AND BROTHERS WILL INHERIT REMAINDER OF ESTATE

As the next provision details, the remaining money in the trust, and other property, shall be distributed in equal shares to Whitney's mother and her brothers Michael and Gary Houston (her father, John Houston died in 2003). If Whitney had legally adopted Nick Gordon (Bobbi Kristina's alleged husband), he would have been the next beneficiary of the inheritance as her will expressly included any “formally adopted” child as her “issue”. However, Whitney did not formally adopted Gordon although she cared for him since he was 12 years old.

As seen above, it appears that Whitney had a real concern with the manner in which her brothers would use their inheritance, so she instituted guidelines for the distribution of their money. This may have been due to Whitney's personal knowledge of the alleged drug problems each brother had. Long after the will was written, Michael was arrested for possession of cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of drugs in Fort Lee, N.J. Gary was pulled over while driving in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1996 for possession of crack cocaine.

Whitney's obvious disdain for her half-brother, John Houston III, was highlighted by an affirmative statement of exclusion. John Houston III was the son of Whitney's father from a relationship prior to his marriage to Whitney's mother.

BOBBY BROWN MAY BE ENTITLED TO BOBBI KRISTINA’S ASSETS

Whether or not Bobbi Kristina has her own will and testament is paramount in determining what Bobby Brown could inherit from his daughter. Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina's closest living heir would be entitled to any money and other assets she might have. Therefore, any money she did not spend from the10 percent of the trust given to her, and any additional income she earned, could potentially go to Bobby.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOUNTING MEDICAL EXPENSES

The question that still looms large is, "who will pay for Bobbi Kristina's medical expenses?" Many suggest that because she is an adult with assets, any money due will first come from her estate, which could significantly reduce the amount of money Bobby Brown will inherit. However, due to the wording of the will, some suggest that Whitney’s estate will be responsible for the debt. Unless this matter has already been negotiated and resolved with the insurance company and the Houston and Brown families, I suspect this will be yet another highly publicized battle.

Paul Hughes-Cromwick, senior health economist at the Center for Sustainable Health Spending at the Altarum Institute, told The Wrap "a 60-day hospital stay would start somewhere between and $60,000 and $120,000." He continued, "The cost of Brown’s stay in the rehabilitation facility is clearer. Admittance in a rehab location, Hughes-Cromwick noted, entails “very high costs — as much as a couple thousand dollars or more per day. Ballparking on that estimate, Brown’s stay at the rehabilitation facility so far could conceivably have a price tag in the $165,000 range after about 11 weeks, and counting." Hughes-Cromwick estimates a cost of approximately $265,000 and rising. Many people, who have had long, complicated hospital stays, suggest Bobbi Kristina's bills could easily surpass $1,000,000.

NICK GORDON HAS NO LEGAL RIGHTS TO KRISTINA'S ASSETS

Nick Gordon and Bobbi Kristina held themselves out to be a married couple; however, Bobby Brown's lawyer told the media that the couple was not legally married. There are a few states that recognize Common Law Marriages, but it does not appear that Bobbi and Nick lived in any of those states. Additionally, in light of the fact that the family successfully prohibited Gordon from visiting Bobbi Kristina is another indication that their marriage was not official. A husband cannot be barred from visiting his wife. Absent marriage, the only way that Gordon can receive the entirety of Bobbi Kristina’s current assets would be if she has a will and testament naming him as her heir.