Larry King's Estranged Wife Shawn Asks to Be Executor of His Estate amid Legal Battle over Will
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Larry King's estranged widow, Shawn Southwick King, is petitioning to become the executor of his estate after being excluded from his revised will.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Shawn filed for a Petition for Probate — a move that would both ensure the original will's validity and enable her to be "appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent" if approved. Shawn's request is based on Larry's 2015 will, in which she was listed as his executor.
Those in disagreement with Shawn's petition being granted can state their objections at the upcoming court hearing set for May 4.
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Larry died in January at age 87 from sepsis. Shortly after he was laid to rest, PEOPLE obtained Larry's handwritten will from 2019 in February.
The veteran journalist requested that his $2 million estate be split evenly among his sons Larry King Jr., 59, Cannon, 20, and Chance, 21, as well as his late son, Andy, and late daughter, Chaia.
"This is my Last Will & Testament," the document read. "It should replace all previous writings. In the event of my death, any day after the above date I want 100 percent [placed above illegible cross-out] of my funds to be divided equally among my children Andy, Chaia, Larry Jr., Chance & Cannon."
Shawn was completely excluded from the revised will and Larry Jr. was appointed as the new administrator. In response, she contested the validity of the document and Larry Jr. being named the estate's administrator.
The legendary TV host was married to Shawn from 1997 until 2019, when Larry filed for divorce for the second time after initially retracting his 2010 filing. The pair subsequently embarked upon a rocky divorce battle, which saw Shawn seeking $33,100 in monthly spousal support.
Their divorce had not been finalized at the time of his death.
Speaking to PEOPLE last February, Larry opened up about what contributed to his separation from Shawn.
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"We had a big age difference and that eventually takes its toll," he said of their 26-year age gap. "It became an issue. Also, [Shawn] is a very religious Mormon and I'm an agnostic atheist, so that eventually causes little problems. We overcame a lot, but eventually it became a ships passing in the night situation."
The broadcaster noted that he would "always care" for Shawn, but that "it just hit a point where we didn't get along."
