Reclusive Heiress Leaves Fortune to Arts, Nurse

Her will was filed in court yesterday, and reclusive heiress Huguette Clark left behind a $400 million estate that will be divvied up between her nurse, her goddaughter, an arts foundation, and—in a move that's raising eyebrows—her lawyer and accountant. Wallace Bock and Irving H. Kamsler will each receive $500,000, plus additional monies for their roles as executors of the estate and members of the new foundation's board. The Manhattan DA's office is investigating the duo's handling of Clark's money, a source tells the New York Times.

Relatives have questioned Bock's and Kamsler's intentions in the past, and accused them of blocking visits from Clark's relatives. Bock's own drafting of the 2005 will is also raising eyebrows. The will explicitly declares that no family members receive anything after her death. Clark's nurse is the biggest individual beneficiary, receiving a doll collection that could be worth millions as well as 60% of various assets worth some $40 million. Most of Clark's assets, including an oceanfront Santa Barbara estate and most of her art collection, which includes works by Monet and Renoir, will go into a foundation that will be created to promote the arts. A medical center where she lived, an art gallery, her assistant, and a physician will also benefit. (More Huguette Clark stories.)