Heiress Clark's will could spark battle

Boiled down to its essence, the 51-word paragraph in the will of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark had a simple message for the relatives who might be expecting an inheritance from her $400 million estate -- get lost!

Clark's 10-page will, which was filed last week in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, directed that the bulk of her fortune be given to a private arts foundation, her longtime private duty nurse and a goddaughter. Several employees who cared for her three palatial homes, as well as her doctor, lawyer, and accountant, are to get bequests ranging from $25,000 to $500,000.

As to her blood relatives, Clark stated in her will, "I intentionally make no provision . . . for any of my family, whether on my paternal or maternal side, having had minimal contacts with them over the years."

But neither Clark's nurse Hadassah Peri nor her goddaughter Wanda Styka, should count on getting their inheritance any time soon. Given the recent legal controversies surrounding the life of Clark, who died last month at 104 after living for about two decades in Manhattan hospital rooms, her fortune is expected to be tied up in a long legal battle.

"Four years is not unusual for [an estate] of this size," said Clark's estate attorney John Dadakis of the Manhattan law firm of Holland & Knight.

But the size and complexity of liquidating the Clark estate -- she had homes in Santa Barbara, Calif., and New Canaan, Conn., and a 42-room apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan -- aren't the only problems looming. Dadakis acknowledged that a handful of nieces and nephews who took unsuccessful steps last year in state court to get a guardian appointed for Clark, have until August to raise legal challenges.

Clark was the only surviving child of the late onetime U.S. Senator William Andrews Clark. William Clark had built up a fortune in copper and railroad companies but was allegedly tied to political corruption. He died in 1925 at the age of 86.

In 2010, three of Huguette Clark's nieces and nephews filed a petition in New York State Supreme Court alleging that the frail woman was at risk of being improperly influenced by her attorney Wallace Bock and accountant Irving H. Kamsler for their personal benefit. Clark's relatives alleged Bock and Kamsler controlled Clark's affairs and limited her access to family. The petition also said Kamsler was convicted in 2008 in Nassau County of attempting to send indecent material to a minor.

Clark's nieces and nephews either declined to comment Sunday or could not be reached for comment.

But in his own court filing, Bock said he had managed Clark's affairs as she had directed and that she told him not to tell her relatives where she resided or let them visit her. Bock said that it was Clark's decision to retain the services of Kamsler even after learning of his Nassau conviction. A Manhattan Supreme Court justice refused to appoint a guardian.

Dadakis said Clark was a strong-willed woman who loved the arts and spent her time learning about them. Clark also compiled numerous writings, often penned in her own hand, which Dadakis said will be revealed in probate proceedings.

"I think she has a fantastic story," said Dadakis. "That is part of her elegance."