Daughter of deceased business mogul claims power of attorney

California estate owners and future beneficiaries may want to pay close attention to a particular probate battle as it unfolds in court. The situation involves an adult child of the now-deceased former CEO of Bendix Corporation, William M. Agee, who is fighting her stepmother over her father's estate. The stepmother, Mary Cunningham Agee, claims her husband was no longer in his right mind when he reportedly changed his estate plan weeks before his death to give his daughter power of attorney.

Many people are familiar with the widow Agee. She happens to be one of the first women in the nation's history ever to hold a leadership position in a Fortune 100 company. This was during the 1980s, and her rise to fame up the corporate ladder also brought an avalanche of rumors and gossip regarding whether she had 'slept' her way to the top.

Agee says she learned to rise above false accusations. She also says she and her husband (with whom, she continues to adamantly state, she did not become romantically involved until after she became a business executive) lived a happy life together for 35 years. She adds, however, that he suffered severe dementia in the weeks prior to his death and apparently made some changes to his estate plan without being of sound mind.

Her deceased husband's daughter and several others refute such assertions by saying there was never an official diagnosis of dementia made. It does appear that the decedent gave his daughter power of attorney, along with her half sister. However, a major portion of his assets (some $7 million worth) had already been placed in trust with his wife named as trustee. It's a complicated situation to which some California residents may relate if they are currently engaged in similar litigation. An experienced attorney would no doubt be a good source of support in such circumstances.

Source: lasvegassun.com, "Before there was #MeToo, there was Mary Cunningham", Amy Chozick, Feb. 19, 2018