Sam Amico
Naomi Judd decided to name husband Larry Strickland executor of her, and that raised a few eyebrows. People seem to be asking why she chose Strickland over daughters Wynona and Ashley.
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But it’s actually not that rare.
“It is common to name the spouse as the executor of a will. But leaving out her daughters seems pointed. Like a purposeful act on Naomi’s part,” attorney and legal expert Holly Davis told the New York Post.
Criminal defense attorney Jason Goldman supported that statement.
“Despite having the opposite intent, wills typically become notoriously difficult to interpret when overly specific,” Goldman told the Post. “When you then factor in the existence of numerous children, a longer, divided will is inevitably a recipe for misinterpretation; and disaster.”
Does It Even, Really, Matter?
Neither Wynonna, 58, nor Ashley, 54, were named in Naomi’s will and are therefore not beneficiaries to her assets. But again, that’s not a big deal, Goldman told the Post.
“The will itself did not mention Naomi’s hard assets, which may have already been bestowed upon the children through title transfers,” he said.
Naomi Judd, 76, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound back in April. She had suffered a lifelong and public battle with depression. Wynona and Ashley have both spoken about their mother’s death, but not about her will.
“If the daughters believe that Naomi was unduly influenced in her final months or years by her spouse, such that they claim he influenced the outcome of her will in a fraudulent way, that could result in a claim on behalf of the daughters,” Davis told the Post.
