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Heiress Abigail Kawānanakoa is in a battle for her wealth. The 93 year old showed up to court on Friday, October 25, in Honolulu with her pet Chihuahua reportedly named "Girlie Girl" and wife Veronica Gail Worth to try to regain control of her $215 million fortune. The heiress was photographed sitting beside her spouse and with her pup on her lap (see photos here) inside the courtroom. According to ABC News, Hawaiians consider Abigail a Princess because “she's a descendant of the family that ruled the islands before the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.”
The Hawaiian Princess, whose wealth came from her great-grandfather James Campbell, has been involved in a legal fight over her fortune since she suffered a stroke in 2017. At the time, her former lawyer Jim Wright stepped in as trustee saying Abigail was left impaired because of the stroke. However, the Princess declared that she was fine and fired her attorney. In 2018, the court ruled that the Hawaiian Princess lacks the mental capacity to manage her trust, and instead appointed the First Hawaiian Bank to serve as trustee.
© GettyImagesAbigail’s trust is set up to benefit Hawaiian causes. Per ABC News, “The foundation is participating in the court battle because it is a beneficiary of her trust. Board members of her foundation and ex-employees say her wife is manipulating her. Lawyers for the couple dispute that.”
The Princess tried to amend her trust last year to make sure that her wife receives $40 million, along with all her personal property, ABC News reports. "Just because Ms. Kawananakoa has a great deal of assets and just because there’s a lot of people who think they could do a better job of spending her money than she does, does not mean that Ms. Kawananakoa has lost the basic right to decide what she wants to do with her money and property," Abigail's attonery Bruce Voss said. Outside of the courtroom, the Princess called the situation “sad” adding, "My heritage dictates that I must take care of the Hawaiian people."
