Fred Thompson's wife: Adult sons never major part of will
The adults sons of late U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson were not swindled out of anything by Thompson's wife, Jeri Thompson, because no changes were made to the former lawmaker and television star's estate plans that would affect his adult sons, according to a new filing in the family's lawsuit late Friday.
Instead, the only change made ensured that both of the couple's young children were entitled to part of the estate, according to Jeri Thompson's legal filing.
"Each of (Thompson's sons') alleged claims against (Jeri Thompson) in this matter is founded upon a single premise — that (Jeri Thompson) took something that belonged to (Thompson's sons) either through her own actions or by influencing the actions of Senator Thompson. That premise is unsound, unsupported and contradicted by the undisputed facts of this case. No person made any changes to Senator Thompson's estate plans in October 2015 that caused any change in (Thompson's sons') position," the response states.
Fred Thompson's sons sue late senator's wife in estate fight
Fred Thompson, who represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate from 1994 to 2003, died at the age of 73 in November. Tony and Dan Thompson, his two adult sons, filed a lawsuit last week against Jeri Thompson, accusing her of having undue influence over Fred Thompson to change his estate plans when he "lacked the requisite mental capacity."
That's patently false, Jeri Thompson argues in her response to the lawsuit. Apart from the one change in support of the couple's two young children — Tony and Dan are Fred Thompson's children from a different marriage — no other changes were made. An attorney with Nashville-based law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis reportedly met with Fred Thompson in October, and at the time determined he wasn't capable of making changes to his estate, according to Jeri Thompson's filing.
"Senator Thompson did consider making some such changes, and as a result, Waller began gathering information and drafting documents in preparation for the possible changes. But Senator Thompson's condition worsened before the documents could be completed and Senator Thompson could review and sign them," the response states.
Regardless of changes, Jeri Thompson said her late husband's estate plans never included major distributions to his two adult sons.
"(The adult sons) were not primary or contingent beneficiaries either before or after the change. Nor did the change have any effect on Senator Thompson's estate or the funds distributed to Senator Thompson's heirs," her response states.
Copies of the will included in the court case say Jeri Thompson is the primary beneficiary and that she is supposed to give Tony and Dan Thompson $50,000 each.
Jeri Thompson asks the court to dismiss the claims of Tony and Dan Thompson. Michael Sontag, an attorney for the two sons, did not immediately respond to a phone message Monday morning.
Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.