Kenneth P. Thompson. Photo Credit: Rick Kopstein/ALM

A Surrogate's Court judge vacated a probate decree for the hotly contested will of the late Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, which cut Thompson's relatives out of the estate and left everything to his wife and children, finding that there are reasons to doubt the validity of the will.   

Thompson died from cancer on Oct. 9, 2016, while he was still in office at the age of 50.

Clara Thompson, Thompson's mother, alleges that her son signed his third and final will within two weeks of his death at the urging of Thompson's wife Lu-Shawn Thompson.

Thompson's first will, executed in 2008, bequeathed $900,000 to his parents, his sisters and other family members with the remainder of his estate to go to a trust fund for his wife and children.

When he signed the latest will, which left nothing for the relatives in his first will, Kenneth Thompson's cancer had spread to his brain and, his mother argues, that he was in a weakened mental state.

Acting Brooklyn Surrogate's Court Judge John Ingram found that the “significant” difference between the two wills, as well as other factors in the bitter estate battle between the late DA's surviving family “casts doubt” on the validity of the 2016 will and ordered a September hearing.

Vacating the probate decree frees up the parties to conduct discovery in the case, including allowing Clara Thompson to access her son's medical records from the day he signed the last will, which could provide a clearer picture of his mental state at the time, said Clara Thompson's lawyer, Farrell Fritz partner John Morken.  

“There's clearly enough to warrant investigation,” Morken said.

Lori Anne Douglass, a former partner with Moses & Singer who last year co-founded estates boutique Douglass Rademacher, said the estate battle is a “sympathetic” case but that the “law is on our side” and that she is confident that the court will ultimately find that the latest will was valid.

“It's hard for his family to realize that he had different intentions in his estate planning,” Douglass said.

Thompson was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2016 which, by about four months later, metastasized to his brain, rendering him unable to go to the office. In the months leading up to his unexpected death, Thompson's mother and sister say, Thompson was often incoherent.

Eric Gonzalez, Thompson's second-in-command, stepped up to take the reins of Thompson's office and was elected as Thompson's successor in November 2017.

Clara Thompson alleges that her son had become disillusioned with his marriage and that he was upset with Lu-Shawn Thompson's ”unbridled spending,” according to court papers. According to Kenneth Thompson's sister, court papers stated, he had considered filing for divorce.

According to court papers, Thompson was admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering on Sept. 16, 2016.

While he was admitted, Lu-Shawn contacted Douglass to retain her for the purpose of writing up new wills and contacted Jeffrey Lowin of Tarter Krinsky  & Drogin to send her the original will.

Thompson was released from the hospital on Sept. 22, 2016, and the original will was destroyed that day; Thompson was readmitted to the hospital three days later.  

Thompson's third will was admitted for probate on Nov. 2, 2016, and, the following month, Clara Thompson and other relatives filed to compel Lu-Shawn Thompson to produce the will from 2008.

But Douglass and Lowin refused Clara Thompson's requests to produce the original will, citing attorney-client privilege.

The two attorneys took copies of the original will to their respective depositions in the estate matter but refused to show them to Clara Thompson's attorneys.

Douglass and Lowin ultimately produced copies of the will after Clara Thompson's attorneys moved to hold them in contempt.

On July 6, 2017, Lu-Shawn relinquished her rights to her late husband's estate, leaving it to the couple's children, Ken and Kennedy.

In February, Lu-Shawn moved to dismiss the proceeding for lack of standing, arguing that their right to challenge probate went away with the revocation of the 2008 will. But Ingram rejected the standing argument, finding that Clara Thompson and the late DA's other relatives were adversely affected by the probate of the 2016 will.

Kenneth Thompson's mental state at the time that he executed his final will, Ingram said, is one factor in determining whether or not the will was the product of undue influence, which the judge said is “seldom practiced openly but may be shown by persistent and subtle suggestions imposed upon a weaker mind and furthered by the exploitation of a relationship of trust and confidence.”