Glen Campbell's Widow Demands $500,000 In Legal Battle With His Children

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Glen Campbell's Widow Demands $500,000 In Legal Battle With His Children

Glen Campbell.com / Matt Sayles - AP

It's sad but true: nothing brings a family together like losing a loved one, and nothing tears a family apart like a will.

Even in my family (which is not well-to-do) there are still years-long disputes about the littlest disagreements.

So it's no surprise that with country legend Glen Campbell's $50 million estate at stake, his family is publicly feuding.

Farewell Tour

Glen Campbell.
The Boot

The "Wichita Lineman" singer announced to his fans in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

A farewell tour followed, but Campbell was getting visibly worse as the dates wore on.

Eventually, he moved back to Nashville to be looked after by his wife Kimberly.

Then, following a doctor's advice, Kimberly moved Campbell into a long-term care home for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's.

But fans - and Campbell's children - accused Kimberly of neglecting her husband.

"They said I was withholding basic necessities"

"I'd get death threats," she confessed to People.

"They'd say, 'Why couldn't she hire a big strong man to handle him?' But I put child locks on my kitchen cabinets and it would make him mad."

Glen Campbell and Kimberly Campbell.
Campbell with his widow Kimberly.Matt Sayles / AP

A pair of Campbell's children even sued their stepmother, in what Kimberly called a "deliberate" attack.

"They said I was withholding basic necessities like a toothbrush. The reality was he had plenty of toothbrushes but we kept them locked away because he didn't know what it was and would rinse them in the toilet."

"They never asked. They only attacked."

As Campbell's conditions worsened, his children shared even more complaints about the singer's treatment.

Final Days

Campbell was married four times, and had eight children from his different marriages.

But almost all of his children complain that they were kept out of the loop or blocked from visiting their father before he died.

His eldest children, Debby and Travis, successfully sued Kimberly to be allowed to visit their father.

Campbell and his widow with some of the singer's children.NewsBake

But Kimberly denies she blocked any of Campbell's family from visiting him.

"It has been very painful and hurtful," she told Inside Edition about the allegations.

"It's a nightmare to have people on the internet threatening to kill you because they think you are this horrible person who wouldn't let people visit, which is totally false."

In fact, Kimberly claims she "never ever denied them a visit," and insists Travis had not seen his father for 20 years before he was sick.

Cut Out Of The Will

Campbell's death last summer didn't resolve any of his family's feuds.

In fact, three children from the singer's second marriage were stunned to learn they had been "specifically excluded" from his will.

They're taking his estate to court over the will, which Kimberly was the executor of. But she says the whole thing was Campbell's decision.

"There were reasons for it," she said.

Now, even Kimberly is taking the estate to court.

The $50 Million Estate

Kimberly is arguing for her own claim to part of the singer's massive estate, which includes an interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.

In a lawsuit filed this month, Kimberly is seeking $500,000 to repay expenses from her time caring for Campbell.

The list of bills includes $127,000 for caregiver expenses, another $134,000 for assisted living expenses, $68,000 to install a security fence, and $175,000 for legal costs.

Bad Dads

Jerry Lewis.
Jerry Lewis left six children from his first marriage out of his will.The BayNet

Campbell's will isn't the first celebrity estate to exclude children, either deliberately or under suspicious circumstances.

David Cassidy's daughter Katie was left out of the singer's will, and the Partridge Family star didn't mince words about his decision.

"Because I didn't raise her, I didn't have to parent her," the singer told People.

Comedian Jerry Lewis also left his entire estate to his widow, SanDee Pitnick.

That meant the Nutty Professor star's six children from his first marriage got nothing.

Hopefully Campbell's family can sort all this out very soon!

[H/T: Rolling Stone, People]

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