Tony Bennett's children's legal battle highlights his personal struggles

Legal drama between Tony Bennett's children carry on, and his eldest son reveals his dark past to make the case.

The rift in the music icon's family began last year when his daughters Antonia and Johanna Bennettaccused his older brother of Danny Bennettfor abuse of his trustee's rights before and after his father's death.

The women claimed their sibling had engaged in “multiple conflicting powers of trust”, prompting them to demand a detailed accounting of Tony Bennett's estate. However, the eldest Bennet child refused to comply with their wishes, on the pretext that they did not have the right to see the expenses of the inheritance.

According to court documents, Danny recently responded to his sisters' demand to spend their late father's estate. He denied their request, stressing that he played a significant role in Tony's successful career, especially his memorable comeback.

Denny claimed Tony credited him with turning his life around “after he hit rock bottom in the late 1970s, including a near-fatal cocaine overdose and a financial disaster that led to the IRS seizing his Los Angeles home.”

The founder of RPM Productions served as his father's manager from the 1970s until his retirement in 2021. He claimed Tony credited him with a comeback Grammy in 1995. His lawyer echoed similar sentiments in documents he obtained When communicatingclaiming:

“Tony considered Danny one of his greatest assets. In addition to naming Danny a trusted personTony also kept Danny to be him personal the manager and the manager of his company“.

Danny not only helped turn Tony's career around, but noted that he stepped up after the jazz icon was unable to tour and negotiated a lucrative deal on his behalf. He signed a contract to sell the singer's memorabilia, a stream of music royalties and the rights to his likeness and publicity.

The agreement, known as the “Iconoclast Deal”, included a purchase price and an income stream for a limited time from various projects. Danny added that he is “completely transparent” with his sisters about the details of the deal, including the earnings.

Regarding Antonia and Johanna's request for an accounting of the inheritance, Danny argued that they had no legal right to look at the finances before and after their father's death. His lawyer reflected on his position, noting:

“It just doesn't make sense to spend the money and effort to keep track of a property that's only been open for a year.”

Antonia and Johanna did not dispute Danny's role in improving their late father's image, but called him out for engaging in “self-dealing” before and after Tony's death. They claimed he provided “contradictory financial statements” about the property.

Their allegations went on to allege “unexplained expenses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). In addition, there were “significant distributions, gifts and other payments that Danny made directly to or for his own benefit, wearing every conceivable fiduciary hat.”

Antonia and Johanna argued that Danny's behavior before Tony's death “was out of the ordinary and raises serious concerns about the postmortem”.

According to their complaint, he “acted in multiple, conflicting trust capacities and took (for himself and his children) substantial funds from the Family Trust long before Tony's death.”

Tony's daughters noted that Danny had made his diminished capacity public before his death. They argued that at this stage their father was unable to act as a co-trustee, making their brother the sole non-supervisory trustee of the Family Trust.

Antonia and Johanna stressed that this was wrong, as their father trusted his four children and expected them to be treated equally. “It is vital that all the beneficiaries of the Family Trust are able to verify Danny's actions to ensure that Tony's wishes are carried out.”

The Bennett children include a second son, Day, who is not involved in the legal battle. The accounting drama began in June 2024, a year after Tony's death in July 2023, An explosion reporting that Denny had initially tried to delay the hearing.

Last year, Denny asked the court to extend the accounting drama because his lawyer had just been hired and was unfamiliar with the case. The legal representative also stated that he and his partner had an upcoming vacation and were unable to respond to the Bennett sisters' petition.

However, Antonia and Johanna rejected Danny's request, insisting that they must receive a detailed accounting of their late father's estate. They declined the counteroffer, saying they would agree to an extension if their brother provided the requested financial information within 45 days.

The battle between the sisters over the accounting of the property began due to significant differences in Tony's finances. They believed their father had amassed more than $100 million over the past 15 years, but his estate was worth just $7 million after his death, an amount they say deserves clarification.

Will Tony Bennett's children be able to settle their differences amicably?