Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, at the age of 82 after a long and storied career as a singer, dancer, actor, and Hollywood superstar. Ol' Blue Eyes, as he was known, had a five-decade-long career and remains one of the most important artists ever, even 40 years after his death.
When he died, his net worth was estimated to be around $200 million, accumulated through decades of music sales, blockbuster films, a portfolio of multimillion-dollar real estate across California, high-paying Las Vegas residencies, and the ownership of Reprise Records, which was founded in 1960 and is now owned by Warner Music, with artists such as Michael Buble, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks and Idina Menzel signed.
© Bettmann ArchiveBut there was one big surprise when the will was filed for probate in Los Angeles Superior Court, a day after his star-studded funeral – anyone who had been named in the will but was contesting their share would be disinherited.
Family drama
At the time of his death, Frank was married to Barbara Marx, to whom he tied the knot in 1976.
But Barbara had a deeply strained relationship with Frank's three children, Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina, whom he had welcomed with his teenage sweetheart, Nancy.
© Getty ImagesFrank and Nancy married in 1939 and moved the family to Hollywood for Frank's career, where he engaged in highly public extramarital affairs, including with Ava Gardner, who would become his second wife.
However, over the years, Frank and Nancy remained incredibly close, spending holidays together, birthdays, and enjoying long phone calls as his career progressed.
Because of this, Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina remained fiercely loyal to their mother, with Nancy writing in her memoir, Frank Sinatra: My Father, that she cried for a week before his wedding to Barbara, because there was "no chance now for him and my mother to get together and grow old together".
© Michael Ochs ArchivesThe children were also unhappy with Barbara's request that Frank legally adopt her son, and did not attend their 20th wedding renewal in 1996.
In Tina's 2000 memoir, she claimed that Barbara never allowed them to say goodbye to their father, with a doctor calling the children to say Frank had passed.
Barbara, in her memoir Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank, never mentioned Nancy or Tina.
© Getty ImagesWhat did fourth wife Barbara Sinatra receive?
The will, written in 1991, seven years before Frank died, guaranteed Barbara at least $3.5 million, as well as three homes in the Palm Springs area, and houses in Beverly Hills and Malibu.
She was also bequeathed all silverware, books and paintings in the homes, 25% of his other personal property, a Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce, the master recordings for his 1980 work Trilogy, and the right to market his name and likeness.
What did first wife Nancy Sinatra receive?
His first wife Nancy, who died in 2008 at the age of 101 and had never married, was given a cash bequest of $250,000.
© Getty ImagesWhat did Frank's stepson receive?
Barbara's son, Robert Oliver Marx, received a $100,000 cash bequest.
What did Frank's 3 children receive?
Frank's three children, Nancy, Frank Jr, and Tina, also received cash bequests of $200,000 apiece, in addition to their existing trust funds, and the rights to much of the singer's music catalogue. The will also asked them to divide his clothes, train collections, furniture and other property with Barbara.
Frank Jr was left his father's sheet music.
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyWhat did Frank's 2 grandchildren receive?
His two granddaughters, Angela Jenifer Lambert and Amanda Katherine Lambert, were gifted $1 million to a joint trust fund established in 1983.
Who else was named in Frank's will?
Frank also made cash gifts to friends and employees, including his personal assistant, Dorothy Uhlemann, who received $50,000, and Elvina Joubert was bequeathed $150,000.
© Getty ImagesThe living trust
Much of Frank's estate, however, was left in a living trust, a highly confidential way to manage estates and keep undisclosed assets and royalties completely private, and which his attorney, Harvey Silbert, said at the time of his passing had "very substantial assets".
The living trust remains primarily owned and managed for the benefit of his three children and his grandchildren, who are believed to manage his music rights and personal assets.
