According to reports, Tom Petty's widow and two daughters are embroiled in a heated legal dispute over the future of the singer's music and will.
Petty passed away in October 2017 after an accidental drug overdose. According to TMZ, the Heartbreaker's wife Dana York Petty and daughters Annakim and Adria are reported to be locked in a bitter feud over the music legend's estate.
The NME reports that Dana has filed legal documents that assert she is in control of Petty’s estate. However, both Adria and Annakim, his offspring from another relationship, maintain that their dad always wanted for them to be involved as well.
Dana Petty has also accused his daughters of verbal attacks against the other band members of Petty's and making it increasingly harder for her to control the estate.
It's alleged that Dana Petty wrote an email to the heartbreaker's Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell that said:
“What I don’t have the temperament for is having my entire life raped. Being disparaged. My dad being disgraced. I am sorry I am not a man and can not earn your respect through the work and deeds I do.”
The court application by Petty’s wife accuses his daughters of holding back on the release of solo material he recorded 25 years ago. Another aspect of the legal dispute also concerns plans to rename a park in Petty’s honour in home city of Gainesville, Florida.
When local officials asked the estate to create artwork for a park sign, Adria allegedly said: “Your name is not Petty and you don’t have the backbone to protect the estate from a horrible image like this one. Shame on you.”
It’s reported that Adria has lodged a petition with a probate court, accusing Dana of ignoring two of her late father’s wishes in his will.
She asserts that his wife was requested to transfer the singer’s “artistic property” assets out of his trust and into a separate company managed by all three women. All three are yet to respond to the latest claims.
