Daily London
A court battle over the estate of Virginia Giuffre, the accuser of the former prince Andrew and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, might involve less than half a million dollars.
Giuffre, 41, who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was found dead in April at her farm in Western Australia without a valid will.
Her sons, Christian and Noah Giuffre, launched a legal case in the WA Supreme Court in June amid speculation their mother’s estate was worth more than $20 million.
Court documents released to the media as the case resumed today make no mention of the millions of dollars she reportedly received in legal settlements, with the value of her estate estimated to “at least … exceed the sum of $472,000”.
Christian and Noah’s statement of claim says their mother owned a horse, two cars, the contents of a country home, jewellery, personal effects, shares in a company named Witty River Pty Ltd, and a slice of a family trust.
She also had the potential right to receive royalties from her memoir Nobody’s Girl about the abuse to which she was allegedly subjected by disgraced financier Epstein, his friend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and the former prince when she was 17.
Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles, has always denied the allegations.
Giuffre’s former lawyer, Karrie Jean Louden, and housekeeper Cheryl Mary Myers are named as defendants for the case.
Their counterclaim said the estate was worth at least $501,000.
At Christian and Noah’s request, the court on Monday appointed an administrator who has been empowered to manage Giuffre’s estate.
Lawyer Ian Blatchford will represent Giuffre’s estate in any ongoing legal cases involving her, including in the United States, in her case against Maxwell.
Blatchford will also take charge of Giuffre’s interests for her memoir.
The case returned to court in Perth today when the parties discussed a range of issues, including whether Giuffre’s daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and her ex-husband Robert Giuffre should be added to the case as plaintiffs.
Registrar Danielle Davies also canvassed with the parties which case documents should be released to the media, including the statement of claim and the defence case, which the parties consented to with some redactions.
The registrar ordered the parties file a memorandum of consent or competing orders for dates for when the documents should be filed by 4pm on Monday.
Outside the court, defence lawyer Craig Hollett ran a large media pack through the day’s hearing, saying a key issue discussed was whether Robert Giuffre and his daughter should be joined to the case.
Giuffre figured prominently in the downfall of Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled as a suicide.
When confirming Giuffre’s death in April, Louden said she was honoured to have worked with someone who was “so strong and powerful and willing to advocate for victims of sexual abuse”.
Her family said “the toll of abuse” became too heavy for her to handle and she took her own life. Police said at the time the early indication was that the death was not suspicious.
A further case management hearing over the estate will be held at a date to be fixed in the new year.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
