Families of those who perished in the shooting at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas last month are anticipating the results of a court hearing on Friday. The court will decide how the estate of shooter Stephen Paddock will be distributed. His assets have been estimated at approximately $5 million.
Paddock’s family has said that they want the money to go to the victims’ families, but there are a number of people vying for the role of handling the estate. The Paddocks’ attorney, who wants to be named the estate’s administrator, also represents the father of one of the victims.
Attorney Craig Eiland, who represents some of the other families, submitted a court filing along with other lawyers arguing that this would be a conflict of interest.
“I’d like to get the estate, all of the estate for just my clients,” Eiland said to KLAS. “But that’s just not the right thing to do.”
Eiland says that the estate should go to a constructive trust with an independent party handling the distribution. He believes that would give everyone an equal and fair shot at getting a share of the assets.
“We want to make sure all lawyers and their victims have that right and it’s an open and transparent process.”
Paddock had a lucrative real estate business and was a known gambler. His estate is said to include several homes.
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