Hayden Panettiere's ex-fiance files petition over daughter's estate
Hayden Panettiere's ex-fiancé is seeking to be made the temporary guardian of their daughter's estate, according to a petition to the Los Angeles County probate court that raised concerns about the preservation of the late actress' estate.
The 36-year-old "Nashville" star died last month after she was found unresponsive at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina. She was the mother of one child, Kaya Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko.
The process to appoint a permanent guardian of Kaya's estate is expected to take several weeks, the petition noted, calling the request "urgent and essential."
Klitschko alleged that "there is a high probability that property belonging to Hayden's Estate may be lost, damaged, or dissipated before a duly appointed personal representative can be in place to protect it."
"This directly and adversely affects Kaya, as she is the sole heir entitled to the entirety of Hayden's probate estate," the petition, filed on Thursday, continued.
According to the filing, after Panettiere's death in August, "federal agents accessed Hayden's Los Angeles residence as part of an ongoing investigation and removed property belonging to Hayden's Estate."
Klitschko claimed in his petition that there is no personal representative authorized to safeguard items connected to the investigation.
He alleged that somebody "gained unauthorized access to Hayden's property" before she died and might try again to obtain her belongings, including clothing worn at public appearances.
Klitschko also stated in the filing that he believes non-family members connected to Panettiere accessed and destroyed her emails, and that jewelry and other items have disappeared or remain unaccounted for. Some items, he wrote, are now in the custody of law enforcement.
The petition notes that Klitschko seeks standing to file a petition so that an administrator of Panettiere's estate can be appointed.
Details of the court filings were first reported by TMZ.
Panettiere died on Aug. 16 from an accidental overdose of drugs, including fentanyl, the Greenville County Coroner's Office determined.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating whether the fentanyl came from South Carolina or if the actress may have brought it with her from California, sources told ABC News. Panettiere flew from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death, sources said.
According to a family source, the coroner's report said that Panettiere had been released from a drug rehab center in Malibu, California, not long before she died.
