Battle rages over Ike Turner's estate

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
Family at odds with woman he apparently sought to divorce | Thursday, January 10, 2008 9:38 PM PST ∞

VISTA ---- Since rhythm and blues legend Ike Turner died in San Marcos on Dec. 12, critics, fans and historians have debated whether his musical legacy has been or should be overshadowed by his tumultuous personal life.

Today, another struggle, this time between would-be heirs to the musician's modest inheritance, returns to Vista probate court.

The conflict pits Turner's children against a woman he married in 2006. Among the points of contention are two conflicting wills supposedly penned by Turner and a divorce that may not have been finalized.

Fingerpointing is rife in the fight over Ike Turner's estate; each side asserts in court filings that the other side harmed the musician.

The allegations include gold-digging by his longtime girlfriend whom he later married, coercion by his children, and that the music legend was addled by "physical problems associated with his cocaine addiction at the end of his life."

Turner, 76, who reportedly suffered from emphysema, died in the San Marcos home he rented. His autopsy results and the investigation into his death are pending. Authorities have said they do not suspect foul play.

The fate of Turner's estate, said to be worth about $200,000, is in the hands of Superior Court Judge Richard Cline.

A groundbreaking guitarist, pianist and bandleader who helped pioneer both early rock 'n' roll and modern rhythm and blues, Turner's reputation was tarnished by his drug addiction, a stint in prison on drug-related charges and allegations on film and in print that he abused his famous former wife, Tina Turner.

Shortly after his death, singer Audrey Madison Turner, who married Ike Turner in 2006, asked the court to appoint her as the special administrator of his estate. Audrey Turner, who performed with Ike Turner, declined comment Wednesday through her attorney John Ronge. Ronge himself also declined to speak about the case.

Turner's children and others fought the move, according to court documents. Reached by telephone Thursday, Turner's daughter Mia referred calls to Leodis Matthews, who is representing some of Turner's children. Matthews did not return a call for comment.

Court documents name at least five people as Turner's children, including two daughters and three sons.

In their time together, Ike and Audrey Turner performed together on stage. A 2001 review in Entertainment Weekly called the woman "a comely singer who looks a bit too much like a certain ex-wife for some people's comfort."

The court filings include a pair of handwritten notes that purport to express Ike Turner's final wishes.

In probate court filings, Audrey Turner submitted a copy of a handwritten will presumably penned by Ike Turner. The will, dated Oct. 13, 2007, is a one-page statement leaving his estate to "x (sic) wife Audrey Madison Turner," including "power of attorney over my health and finances."

But, in a note Turner presumably wrote one month later, also included in court documents, Turner revoked "any and all powers of attorneys, wills, estate plans or other similar documents given to me by Audrey Madison."

Another will allegedly handwritten by Ike Turner in October 2001 states that Turner wanted everything he owned to go to his friend and longtime general counsel, James Clayton, "in cace (sic) anything ever happens to me."

Clayton was, in turn, to contact the singer's daughter Twanna Melby, for her to "figur (sic) out what they want to do."

Also at issue may be Turner's short marriage to Audrey Turner, and whether the couple's divorce was finalized.

The pair wed in Las Vegas in October 2006. Two months later, Ike Turner filed for divorce.

Court documents indicate that the couple lived together as husband and wife for about seven years before they married.

The court was told late last year that Ike and Audrey Turner were attempting to reconcile, according to the divorce filing.

Audrey Turner's attorney, Paul Leehey, said Wednesday that it is his client's position that she was married to Ike Turner when he died because the court never issued a final judgment dissolving the marriage.

Clayton, however, said last week he believes court documents confirm the dissolution of the marriage.

In the probate battle, both sides have hurled accusations at each other. Many of the allegations in the court file are sworn statements; none has yet been proven true in court.

Audrey Turner asserts in a sworn court document that she suspects one of Ike Turner's children, Mia Turner, took advantage of the musician's weakened state, and convinced him to add her name to his bank accounts ---- worth about $80,000 ---- the day before he died.

Melby, another of Turner's daughters, claimed in a sworn statement that Audrey Turner's relationship with Ike Turner "appeared to be about what he had and how he could get her to where she wanted to be monetarily and professionally."

Clayton provided the court with a March 2007 e-mail that appears to be a letter to Audrey Turner dictated by Ike Turner. In the e-mail, the musician accuses his estranged wife of a number of instances of deceitful behavior, and asserts that she gave him drugs that landed him in intensive care.

It is up to the court to sort out the mess.

Earlier this week, Cline named Clayton and Colin Ford, an independent trustee with no personal stake in the case, as co-administrators of the estate.

For the time being, Clayton and Ford have limited powers: they are to take possession of Ike Turner's guitars and inventory his music equipment, then bring their documentation of Turner's possessions to the judge at a hearing set for late this morning in Cline's Vista courtroom .

Court filings indicate that one of the guitars in the trustees' possession may have been used in making "Rocket 88," written by Ike Turner. Recorded in 1951, the song is widely cited as the first rock 'n' roll record thanks to its driving beat and heavily distorted electric guitar.

Turner moved to San Marcos in 1991. In recent years, the musician found critical acclaim when he returned to the blues and rhythm and blues of his youth, releasing the Grammy-nominated "Here and Now" in 2001 and the Grammy-winning "Risin' With the Blues" in 2006.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.