The news of Naomi Judd’s death sent shockwaves through the music industry and her devoted fan base.
Country music legend Naomi Judd committed suicide on April 30, 2022, at the age of 76 after a long battle with depression.
According to recent media reports, Naomi left no provision in her $25 million will for her daughters Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd, who along with their mother completed the singing trio The Judds.
According to Yahoo! the singer married Larry Strickland in May 1989 and left him her property and fortune.
The official court document, according to the publication, which cites The Blast as its source, reads: “I hereby nominate and appoint my husband, Larry Strickland, as executor of my estate.”
If my husband is no longer able to serve, the paper reads: “I nominate and appoint my brother-in-law Reginald Strickland and Daniel Kris Wiatr as co-executors. I order my executor to have no bail.” requirement.
In addition, Naomi requested that her husband be granted “full authority and discretion” over all the assets, “without the approval of any court” or the consent of the beneficiaries of the estate.
The document does not specify whether either of Naomi’s two daughters was listed as beneficiaries of any of her assets, according to Page Six.
Page Six reports that Melissa Sitzler, a senior account manager at a Tennessee law firm called Wiatr & Associates, and another person named Abigail Muelder signed as witnesses when the document was created on November 20, 2017.
Both witnesses confirmed that at the time of signing, Naomi was “of sound mind, memory, and understanding and was not under any limitation or in any respect incapable of making a last will”.
RadarOnline.com, which first broke the news, said Wynonna is “upset” about her mother’s decision because she “believes she was a major force behind her mother’s success.”
As previously mentioned, Judd has been open about her struggle with melancholy. In her memoir River of Time, she reveals that she first experienced the effects of trauma when she was three years old after being assaulted by her great uncle.
Judd was quarantined with her grandmother when she was three years old after contracting chicken pox to protect the rest of her family. Just then, Judd called Uncle Charlie, her grandmother’s brother, who entered her room and attacked her. In River of Time, she claims that memories of the episode plagued her for the rest of her life, exacerbating her struggles with depression, anxiety, and panic.
Judd gave birth to her first child as a teenager while still trying to process her experiences. After divorcing her husband, Michael Ciminella, she became a single mother, which made her panic episodes worse.
Judd described the ferocity of the attacks in the River of Time, claiming that some were strong enough to wake her from a sound sleep.
“I reach up to my neck, expecting to find a pair of hands of an intruder who wants to kill me with a grip that is slowly closing on my trachea,” the memoir states. “I’m breathing hard. I don’t know why I’m in danger, but I’m still in danger.”
Judd lost weight when she initially broke through with The Judds, peaking at No. 20 on the country music charts.
“Suddenly we had a future. For the first time in my life I felt alive,” she remarked. Tragically, however, anxiety was never far away.
In an interview with Robin Roberts for Good Morning America in 2016, Judd discussed her struggle with depression.
When people first meet me, they often assume that when they see me with rhinestones and glitter in my hair, that’s who I am. I’m a bit of a dream because I want to provide them, but if I did, I wouldn’t leave the house for three weeks, I wouldn’t change out of my pajamas and I wouldn’t take care of my usual hygiene. It was pretty pathetic.
Judd disclosed his “totally debilitating and life-threatening” depression to Roberts as well, resulting in several trips to the psychiatric unit. Her condition did not improve even after medication and electroconvulsive therapy. She described her condition as “resistant to treatment”.
Judd said in River of Time that she discusses her experiences with depression to “help people who have depression” and “help people around them understand that it’s an illness.”
Naomi’s decision to exclude her daughters raises questions about the complexity of family dynamics and the impact of mental health struggles on personal relationships.
Naomi’s contributions to country music and her advocacy for mental health should not be overshadowed by the details of her will, but rather celebrated as part of her lasting legacy.
I am not sure excluding her daughters from a twenty-5 million dollar estate is a champion of causes should be celebrated for. I know that both daughters are fixed financially but my own thoughts are that a mother who unfortunately suffers from deep depression would intentionally do this to her children. If the family has been portrayed in the media correctly, the family was very close and love was a symbol of their love