Hayden Panettiere's mom reacts to late actress' estate likely going to 'exceptional' granddaughter
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, revealed that she is glad her "exceptional" granddaughter, Kaya, is likely to inherit the actress' estate. Vogel sat down for an interview with the Daily Mail, where she discussed her daughter and granddaughter.
Panettiere's sudden death at the age of 36 has left her family in shock and numbness. This marked the first time Vogel had sat down for an interview and discussed what may happen to her daughter's estate.
Hayden Panettiere's estate could go to daughter Kaya
Vogel kept details about her late daughter, Panettiere, limited during the wide-ranging interview. However, she discussed the actress' estate and said that, according to the Daily Mail, Panettiere did not appear to have a will. Under California law, the entirety of the estate would go to Kaya.
Speaking about her 11-year-old granddaughter, Vogel called her "exceptional" and an "amazing human being." According to reports, Kaya stays with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, in Ukraine.
Vogel shared that her granddaughter knows five languages and has developed an interest in horse riding, where she is already winning competitions. When asked how Kaya is holding up, Vogel said that she is surrounded by people who are "very positive and supportive."
'This child is exceptional,' Vogel said of her granddaughter. 'I mean, she's an amazing human being. She's 11 years old, speaks five languages. She's a hunter jumper and wins.' Vogel also praised Klitschko, calling him a devoted father.
Why Hayden Panettiere's estate could go to Kaya
Panettiere's sudden death has raised many questions, including what will happen to her estate. According to California-based attorneys Marc M Stern, Jordan Matthews, and Jonathan Forster, there are several ways to handle the 36-year-old actress' estate, as per People.
Forster explains, "If she has a trust, then it would be paid to the trust estate, and the trust would distribute to the beneficiaries," he says.
"If she died with a will, it would go through the California probate process and it would go to the people named in her will. And if she died without a will, it would go in accordance with the California laws of intestacy, and her daughter would receive everything."
As Kaya is just 11 years old, the assets could be held in a trust "for her daughter's benefit until she's old enough to be financially mature enough to handle her inheritance," Forster says. "If she did an estate plan, it would be very likely that she did a trust."
