You have been given the following fact pattern by Sofia Perez, one of the senior partners in your law firm.
The firm represents Alison Nielsen. Last month, Alison’s only child, Kymberly, was killed in a car accident. Kymberly, who was 18 at the time of her death, had been a famous child actor and earned several million dollars during her career. For a period of time, Alison served as Kymberly’s manager but after several disagreements over money, Kymberly applied to court at age 16 and had Alison’s parental rights terminated. At the time of her death, Kymberly was not speaking with her father, Phillip Nielsen. Phillip and Alison divorced when Kymberly was a child and neither remarried nor had other children. Kymberly had never been married and left no children and no will.
Ms. Perez would like you to prepare an opinion letter (for her signature) to Alison, explaining what her rights are, if any, to Kymberly’s estate.
