Page "Hugh Culverhouse" Paragraph 20

Before Culverhouse's death, his wife, Joy, had signed a post-nuptial agreement to surrender her half of the estate.

This was done on the advice of lawyer Fred F. Cone, Jr., who would later become one of the three trustees handling the Culverhouse estate.

Joy charged that the trustees were mishandling the estate, and not paying her share.

She filed a malpractice suit against Cone for advising her to give up her marital rights, and a second suit asking for accounting of the estate and removal of the trustees.

She said that Hugh and Cone advised her to sign the agreement for tax reasons, and falsely claimed that Culverhouse was on the brink of bankruptcy.

She charged that the three trustees, Cone, Jack Donlan, and Stephen F. Story, paid themselves $ 4. 35 million in bonuses for arranging the Buccaneers ' sale, sums far in excess of what Culverhouse himself had specified, and that they paid Story a sum that was comparable to the salary of a Fortune 500 executive for managing the estate and included a 10-year golden parachute clause.

She also alleged that the value of Culverhouse's estate had been misrepresented to her at the time that she signed the agreement.

The lawsuits made the details of the Culverhouse estate public.

When it was discovered that the trust had paid hush money to a mistress of Hugh's, Joy's lawyer alleged that Hugh had planned to divorce Joy, and that the trust was created to deprive her of her rightful assets.

Court depositions revealed three extramarital affairs, including Susan Brinkley, wife of broadcaster David Brinkley.

The suits were eventually settled, with each of the three trustees being paid $ 3 million to remove themselves from the handling of his estate, and Joy being allowed to appoint her own trustees.

Joy then said of Hugh, " I'd like to pull him out of the grave and shoot him with every bullet I could get ".