The release of O.J. Simpson’s final will has reignited the decades-long legal battle between the former football star and the family of Ron Goldman.
According to court documents filed in Clark County, Nevada, just days after Simpson’s death at age 76, his last will and testament contains explicit provisions aimed at preventing the Goldmans from claiming any portion of his estate.
The will, signed by Simpson on January 24th of this year, names his longtime lawyer Malcolm LaVergne as the executor of his estate, with Simpson’s son Justin named as the successor executor.
Most notably, the document stipulates that any beneficiary or heir who attempts to “set aside the administration of this Will” or “defeat any change any part of the provisions of this will” would receive a mere $1 and forfeit any claimed interest in the estate or its assets.
LaVergne, who has represented O.J. Simpson since 2009, made it abundantly clear that his primary objective as executor is to ensure that the Goldman family receives nothing from Simpson’s estate.
“It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing,” LaVergne told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”
The deep-seated animosity between Simpson and the Goldmans stems from the former’s controversial acquittal in the 1994 murders of Ron Goldman and Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Despite being found not guilty in the criminal trial, Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil lawsuit and ordered to pay the Goldman and Brown families $33.5 million in damages.
However, according to David Cook, an attorney representing Ron Goldman’s father Fred, the family has yet to receive a dime of that award, which has ballooned to over $100 million with interest over the past 25 years.
“He died without penance,” Cook told PEOPLE. “He did not want to give a dime, a nickel to Fred, never, anything, never.”
With O.J. Simpson’s estate now open, the Goldman family sees an opportunity to potentially collect on the long-standing judgment. Cook stated that the family plans to hire lawyers in Nevada, Florida, and California to “determine what can be done” and explore avenues for obtaining a portion of Simpson’s assets.
