A California court has granted former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko temporary control over the property of his late ex-fiancée, actress Hayden Panettiere, to protect her estate for their 11-year-old daughter.
The ruling follows an urgent request submitted by Klitschko last week. He warned that law enforcement authorities examining Panettiere’s death, along with an unidentified individual outside the family attempting to sell her belongings, were taking items from her estate, leaving no one with the authority to reclaim them on behalf of her daughter, Kaya.
Klitschko, who holds sole custody of Kaya and resides with her in Ukraine, attended the brief Los Angeles County court proceeding via videoconference alongside his daughter.
Appearing on camera seated at a table in front of curtains, the 11-year-old and her father spoke only to state their names.
Judge Stephanie Santoro designated Klitschko as the temporary estate guardian for Kaya until a permanent representative is selected.
During the session, Santoro questioned Klitschko's attorney, Diane Park, regarding the necessity for immediate action.
Park stated that a non-relative had removed personal items following Panettiere’s death and attempted to sell jewelry at a pawn shop.
She added that assets risked being unaccounted for during the police probe, and noted that Panettiere's taxes are due this month. Finding the rationale sufficient, Santoro sanctioned the petition.
Panettiere, known for her roles in the television shows "Heroes" and "Nashville," was found unresponsive by paramedics and pronounced dead at age 36 in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment on Aug. 16.
A coroner’s report obtained by The Associated Press confirmed the cause of death was an accidental overdose involving multiple drugs, including fentanyl. She had recently completed a stay in rehabilitation. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the residence at the time.
Park confirmed to the court that the relevant property, the pawn shop, and the unnamed individual are located within Los Angeles County, where the judge's order holds jurisdiction. She did not provide further comments outside the courtroom.
The petition filed by Klitschko on Sept. 24 stressed that his actions are aimed exclusively at preserving his daughter’s inheritance.
"There is a high probability that property belonging to Hayden’s Estate may be lost, damaged or dissipated," the legal filing noted.
According to the documents, Panettiere and Klitschko had previously retained private security after an unauthorized person accessed her home, with concerns that the individual would continue attempting to "misappropriate" her possessions.
Lesley Vogel, Panettiere's mother, submitted a formal document consenting to Klitschko's appointment.
Klitschko, 50, won an Olympic gold medal and held several heavyweight world titles between 2000 and 2015. The couple started dating in 2009 and became engaged in 2013.
His older brother, Vitali Klitschko, is also a former heavyweight champion and serves as mayor of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Both brothers, sons of a Soviet major general, have remained prominent public figures during the conflict with Russia.
In a memoir published earlier this year, Panettiere detailed her struggles with alcohol addiction and postpartum depression following Kaya's birth in 2014. Kaya has lived full-time with Klitschko since she was two years old. Panettiere's father informed investigators that she was planning to travel to Ukraine to visit her daughter just days after her death.
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