Things aren’t going so well for the great Stan Lee.
The industry titan, best known for creating and/or co-creating the likes of The Avengers, Spider-Man and much of the X-Men, is reportedly at risk of losing his fortune. That’s according to THR, who’s telling us this week that they’ve obtained a document which traces much of Lee’s alleged financial woes to people in his inner circle, who’ve been taking advantage of the 95-year-old in order to siphon vast portions of his wealth and use it to their own gain.
Among other things, here’s what the outlet has learned:
The Feb. 13 document, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, begins with some background, explaining that Lee and his late wife had arranged a trust for their daughter because she had trouble supporting herself and often overspent… It goes on to describe how, when he and his daughter disagree — “which is often” — she “typically yells and screams at me and cries hysterically if I do not capitulate”…Lee explains that J.C. will, “from time to time,” demand changes to her trust, including the transfer of properties into her name. He has resisted such changes, he states, because they “would greatly increase the likelihood of her greatest fear: that after my death, she will become homeless and destitute.”
The declaration then explicates how three men with “bad intentions” — Jerardo “Jerry” Olivarez, Keya Morgan and J.C.’s attorney, Kirk Schenck — had improperly influenced his daughter, a woman with “very few adult friends.” The document claims the trio has “insinuated themselves into relationships with J.C. for an ulterior motive and purpose”: to take advantage of Lee and “gain control over my assets, property and money.”
THR goes on to note that these three individuals are slowly taking over Stan Lee’s inner circle, with the men pushing out some of his longtime employees and associates. Even worse, Morgan is apparently monitoring and writing Lee’s emails now.
Speaking to sources close to the comic book legend, The Hollywood Reporter calls the drama over his estate “an increasingly toxic and combative situation,” one which involves “abrupt explosions and allegations of elder abuse.” A longtime insider has even called the whole thing “an utter shit show.”
Of course, this story comes on the heels of numerous disturbing reports about Stan Lee, including the LAPD investigating an assault and battery at his home two months ago. That was after we heard about financial impropriety, with Lee discovering that someone had written a $300,000 cheque from his account and purchased an $850,000 house using his money without his knowledge.
Obviously, there’s something very, very wrong in the household of Stan Lee right now and I can only hope that whoever’s exploiting his considerable fortune and reputation is brought to justice as speedily as possible. With many of the characters he created set to bring Disney and Marvel Studios record-breaking profits over the next month in Avengers: Infinity War, let’s hope that someone can intervene to make sure that Lee gets to enjoy his final years in peace, security and good health.
