Kobe Bryant's daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri appointed guardians in late father's family trust
New guardians have been appointed for Kobe Bryant's daughters to represent their interests in their late father's trust.
Ever since Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna died in January, his widowed wife Vanessa has been trying hard to get things in order regarding her family trust. It has been reported that there has now been some progress with the matter.
According to new legal documents, Erika Williams has been appointed guardian ad litem for 17-year-old Natalia and three-year-old Bianka Bryant while James Summers will represent Kobe's youngest daughter, nine-month-old Capri, according to a TMZ report. A guardian ad litem is placed to protect a child's interest.
Vanessa and Kobe's agent, Rob Pelinka are co-trustees. Recently, Vanessa has been trying hard to get Capri added to the trust given the baby had not been born at the time when the trust was last updated. As much as Vanessa wanted to get things sorted, the coronavirus pandemic has led to uncertainty.
We had previously reported that Kobe created the trust in 2003 to provide for his wife and children, and it has been amended several times. According to the petition, it was last modified in 2017. At the time of his death, Bryant had an estimated net worth of $500 million.
The 44-year-old Kobe Bryant was killed along with eight others including 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26. It was found that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, who was flying Kobe's chopper had almost been able to navigate the chopper to safety.
However, poor visibility and fog led to the helicopter crashing into the hillside. He had been the chief pilot for Island Express Helicopters who operated Kobe's chopper, Long Beach. The company shared that Zobayan had been a veteran pilot and logged over 8,000 flight hours.
Kobe's wife, Vanessa filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company after the accident, claiming Zobayan had been careless and reckless in his decision to fly in dangerous conditions.
Just last month on February 14, Vanessa paid a touching tribute to Kobe. She shared a picture of him wrapping his hands around her and captioned it, "To my forever Valentine, I love you so much. Missing you so much on your favorite holiday. [I love you forever]. Kisses to you and Gigi in heaven. Happy Valentine's Day, my babies. With all my love, your boo-boo."
The couple had met when Vanessa, now 37, was in high school on the sets of a music video. The pair had got married in 2001 even though his family was against them marrying as they reportedly disapproved of him marrying so young and someone who was not African-American.
The pair were married for around 19 years before his untimely death. At the time of his death, Vanessa had also announced that the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up a charity for the seven other victims of the crash: John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
"Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family," Vanessa had shared.