Petty’s Widow And Daughters Embroiled In War Over Estate
Tom Petty died nearly two years ago, leaving behind wife Dana York Petty and three children, including daughters Adria and AnnaKim from his previous marriage to Jane Benyo. Sadly, things between the surviving Petty ladies aren’t great; they’re currently at war over Tom’s Estate, with Dana going so far as to take the girls to court, filing suit over what she claims is Adria and AnnaKim conspiring to cut her out completely and, in the process, making it “impossible” to manage her late husband’s Estate.
But first, let’s go back.
Dana, who was married to Tom for 16 years until his death in October 2017, alleges that Tom placed her in charge of running his Estate but insisted that daughters Adria and AnnaKim be included in any and all decision making processes that impact the Estate, including when, how, and if his music is released.
https://www.instagram.com/p/rPC6b6vDZS/
She’s also saying that the girls – mainly Adria – have “gone off the rails,” going so far as to attack surviving members of The Heartbreakers while citing an email Adria wrote to Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell in which she says, “What I don’t have the temperament for is having my entire life raped. Being disparaged. My dad being disgraced. And being surrounded by selfish, unreliable people and drug addicts.”
Additionally, Dana reveals that Tom’s daughters are blocking the release of a few brand new solo tracks that Tom recorded 25 years ago – tracks that she planned to include in a 25th anniversary box set release of Wildflowers to help commemorate the event. The release would have generated several million dollars for the Estate, but Adria reportedly blocked the release of the tracks, citing “no real reason for her objection, other than to say the timing was off.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlH328rhuM8/
Dana’s lawsuit against her stepdaughters also claims that Adria, despite approving the artwork for a sign to be made for a Gainesville, Florida park renamed in Tom’s honor, reneged – telling the rep responsible, “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.”
In closing, Dana wants an order from the judge and is asking him to 1) appoint a day-to-day manager for the Estate, and 2) make the girls – again, Adria in particular – “act rationally”.
The Other Side Of The Coin
Adria Petty isn’t one to go down quietly.
At the time of this article’s publication, Adria has filed a petition accusing Dana of ignoring two of Tom’s final wishes.
The will, Adria states in her complaint, gives her and AnnaKim equal input when it comes to decisions made about the Estate, which she says Dana is disregarding. She also claims that her stepmother has not transferred all of Tom’s “artistic property” assets from his trust and into a separate company that would be run equally by all three Petty women, and wants a judge to force Dana to adhere to the rules outlined in the will.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btog6RKgW9X/
Ouch!
Here’s hoping that the Petty women can come to a civil, equal agreement as to how their husband and father’s Estate will be run from here on out!