Caretaker claims Ernie Banks gave her rights to his name, likeness
By Jason Meisner - Chicago Tribune - May 18,2015, 6:10 PMJust months before he died in January of a heart attack, Cubs great Ernie Banks purportedly transferred the potentially lucrative rights to his name and likeness to a private trust controlled by his longtime caregiver, according to recently filed documents in the ongoing battle over Banks' estate.
The filing by lawyers for Banks' estranged wife provides a glimpse into the largely behind-the-scenes wrangling over the slugger's assets that has played out since the bombshell revelation that Banks had cut his family out of a will signed in October and left everything to his caregiver, Regina Rice.
In a court-ordered report on Banks' assets made public Monday for the first time, Rice said Banks signed over the rights to his name and likeness to a private trust that legally is not part of the estate and that she controls. He also transferred a joint Bank of America checking account he shared with Rice to the same trust.
Banks also was in debt to the Internal Revenue Service at the time of his death, paying off about $75,000 in back taxes, the report revealed.
Rice, who has described herself as a "trusted confidant" to Banks, said the Hall of Famer gave her several gifts, including his Babe Ruth "Sultan of Swat" Award, a replica Ernie Banks statue, his 2010 "Living Legend" ring and his late mother's scrapbook, court records show.
Rice also revealed that she has possession of 112 autographed items Banks had given to her to sell on her website,
http://www.erniebanks.net, or donate to charity. The items include jerseys, photos, baseball bats, bobbleheads, a pair of his golf shoes and autographed bottles of Banks' namesake "512" chardonnay wine, according to court records.
In the latest filing, attorneys for Banks' estranged wife, Elizabeth Ellzey Banks, asked Probate Court Judge James Riley to turn over bank records for the trust as well as further documentation on the website's sales and the gifts given to her by Banks.
Rice's attorney, Linda Chatman, has so far refused to turn over any bank records, writing in an email last month that Banks' wife was "not entitled to these documents or information," court records show. The website and "all of the items sold" belonged to Rice and were also exempt from the estate, she wrote.
"(The website) is not a part of Ernie Banks' estate and you are not entitled to the requested information and documents," Chatman wrote.
A status hearing on the estate is set for next week.
The battle over Banks' posthumous wishes began soon after he died Jan. 23 at age 83. Control of his estate initially was awarded to his fourth wife, who went to probate court Jan. 28 claiming Banks had died without a will. In such cases, an immediate family member is typically named executor.
But days later, Rice, 56, filed a petition disclosing the existence of a will signed Oct. 28 at an attorney's office in Lombard. The document directed that all assets be given to a trust controlled by Rice and stated that Banks was "making no provisions" for his wife and children, "not for a lack of love and affection for them and for reasons best known by them."
In a public statement, Banks' twin sons accused Rice of taking advantage of their ailing father and coercing him into signing the will.
n a statement Rice issued in February, she said Banks had been part of her life for 12 years and that the record will "dispel any iota of concern regarding my relationship with Ernie and his trust in me to carry out his wishes."
Last month, Rice filed her first inventory of Banks' personal property with the court that consisted mostly of items from Banks' rented Trump Tower condo as well as storage containers in Chicago and California.
The list included Banks' original Negro League contract from 1950, his Hall of Fame ring and autographed baseballs from Bill and Hillary Clinton. Other big-ticket items included a Rolex watch, the ring commemorating Banks' induction into the Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President Barack Obama in 2013.
Meanwhile, lawyers who represented Banks in the divorce proceedings — ongoing at the time of his death — have filed claims with the estate to collect legal fees. Attorney Jeffery Leving, who was retained by Banks in May 2012, filed a bill for $27,550 for work his firm did. That's on top of a $27,400 bill previously submitted by the firm Grund & Leavitt, which took over the case in November 2013, court records show.
Even the attorney for Banks' wife, Barry Greenburg, has asked to be paid from the estate, claiming in a recent filing that she depended on her husband for income. Greenburg's bill comes to $11,950, records show.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
Twitter jmetr22b
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-ernie-banks-estate-fight-0519-met-20150518-story.html
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