A legal battle between Tom Petty's widow and his two daughters is reportedly holding back the release of the expanded version of the late-Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's Wildflowers solo album.
Rocker Tom Petty’s widow, Dana York Petty, planned to include unreleased tracks from her late husband’s celebrated 1994 solo album as part of a 25th-anniversary edition box set.
However, Tom’s daughters Adria and Anakim, his children from a previous marriage, have blocked the release, according to iHeartRadio’s article, “Tom Petty’s Widow, Daughters Battling Over His Estate.”
Dana says the daughters are interfering with her ability to manage Tom’s legacy. She’s reportedly requested that a judge name a day-to-day manager for the estate.
Adria argues that she and her sister were promised an equal share of control in their father’s estate, according to his will. She says her father’s “artistic property” was supposed to be placed into a separate company to be jointly administered by the three women. However, Dana disagrees.
Anakin seems to reference the battle in a recent Instagram post. She displayed a photo of her father with the caption, “We don’t sell out. No Vampires 2019.” A subsequent reply in the comments section mentions Petty’s will.
Wildflowers were initially designed to be a double album, with Petty completing more than 25 songs in the initial sessions. However, he was convinced by his record label to take some songs off for the final version.
Throughout the years, a few of the extra songs were released on various collections. However, Tom never relinquished his idea of releasing the set as a double LP.
Petty was reportedly planning a Wildflowers tour, before his death in October of 2017, to showcase all the leftover material.
We may not all have rock star estates to worry about. However, leaving loose ends or unclear intentions can lead to family fighting. You can avoid leaving your family unprepared by making sure you have a comprehensive estate plan in place. We invite you to request a consultation with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys to discuss the best way to achieve your goals.