Leonard Cohen’s Son and Daughter Are Suing a Lawyer They Say Took Control of Late Singer’s Fortune Through Nefarious Means
It may very well be a “Chook on the Wire” — or a high-drama authorized conspiracy.
An legal professional for Leonard Cohen’s youngsters is claiming that Robert Kory, an legal professional, swapped out a web page in Cohen’s 2005 belief doc to nominate himself trustee of the late singer’s $48 million fortune, the New York Put up reported on Monday, citing courtroom paperwork.
“Leonard Cohen’s legal professionals and supervisor solid his belief so they may fleece the property of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} and steal the Corridor of Famer’s legacy from his personal youngsters,” a lawyer for 2 of Cohen’s youngsters, Adam Streisand, informed the outlet.
Who’s Leonard Cohen?
Leonard Cohen was born in Canada in 1934 and was a outstanding singer and songwriter all through the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, writing songs like “Chook on the Wire” and “Suzanne.” He additionally wrote “Hallelujah,” which Jeff Buckley famously coated in 1994. Cohen turned a member of the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame in 2008.
Cohen additionally launched a last album in October 2016, lower than a month earlier than he died, and a track on the album received a Grammy after his demise.
Why are Leonard Cohen’s youngsters combating over his belief?
Cohen had two youngsters, Adam, 50, and Lorca 48, with Suzanne Elrod. Each Adam and Lorca have been in a authorized battle in Los Angeles for greater than a 12 months over management of the quite a few belongings of Cohen’s property, significantly royalties, but in addition his creative belongings, equivalent to 243 journals, the unpublished verses of the track “Hallelujah” (Cohen wrote 82 within the first draft), and royalties from different creative works, like books and images, per the NYP.
The present scenario has set the youngsters up with over $400,000 in annual salaries plus an unknown quantity in royalties, per the outlet.
However Adam and Lorca contend, through the cited courtroom paperwork, that they each do not have sufficient say over the singer’s legacy, and that the one who does, Robert Kory, who was socially related to Cohen — and the lawyer the late singer selected to work on his property — secretly inserted himself by forging a doc then swapping a web page to make himself as trustee of the Cohen fortune.
Streisand, who has been a lawyer for Adam and Lorca for the final two months, informed the New York Put up somebody “swapped out” the web page that offers management of the Cohen property through a belief (and decide of the trustee) to Cohen’s two youngsters, in addition to Anjani Thomas, who was romantically concerned with Cohen, “with a brand new web page … that claims Kory is designated trustee.”
Streisand has been concerned in a collection of high-profile authorized battles, with stakeholders together with the Los Angeles Clippers, Marlon Brando, the founding father of North Face, Douglas Tompkin, and the property of Marilyn Monroe.
One other lawyer, nonetheless, contends that Cohen secretly requested for Kory to be designated because the trustee as a result of he was anxious the 2 youngsters could not work properly sufficient collectively to handle the fortune.
Kory has mentioned in his authorized filings that he did not do something incorrect and that he has saved the youngsters apprised of his work with Cohen’s fortune, which has included publishing the ebook “A Ballet of Lepers,” and an artwork exhibit in Canada.
This is not the primary authorized and monetary drama for Cohen. In a 2005 lawsuit, he mentioned a supervisor stole $5 million of his retirement fund. At 73, he went again out on tour to get better his cash.
Streisand didn’t instantly return a request for remark, nor did Kory from what seems to be his LinkedIn profile.
