“Sue” the T. rex is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered, according to Chicago’s Field Museum. The fossil stands at 13 feet (4 meters) tall at the hip and more than 40 feet (12.2 meters) long. The fossil was discovered on a South Dakota couple’s estate, and after a legal battle, the couple was able to claim rights to the skeleton. They then auctioned the skeleton for $7.6 million (more than $16 million today).
But Sue is now at the center of another legal battle: the children of the couple that profited from the sale of the dinosaur skeleton are now wondering who will inherit whatever is left from that sale.
Maurice Williams first died in 2011, followed by his wife Darlene Williams in December of 2020. The couple had four children, with three of those siblings now involved in a court dispute over the profits of “Sue” the dinosaur skeleton. Darlene had two wills, the first, which was signed in 2017, included all of her children and grandchildren and listed her daughter Sandra Williams Luther as the person to take charge of settling the estate, as well as making sure her will was carried out, per one report.
But her second will was signed on November 25, 2020, less than three weeks before she passed away.
The second will designated Luther as the sole heir and executor of her estate. But another daughter of Darlene, Jacqueline Schwartz, is questioning the legitimacy of Darlene’s second will. Schwartz says her mother was in hospice care and was critically ill when she signed the document. Her signing of the will also had no witnesses due to COVID-19 regulations.
Schwartz has also contested the sale of her mother’s home in South Dakota which took place just a couple of weeks before her death. The proceeds of which went to her Darlene’s son, Carson Williams.
A trial date for this family’s legal dispute has not yet been set.