Kellie Pickler and the parents of her late husband Kyle Jacobs are embroiled in a legal battle over his personal property following his tragic death, Daily Mail reports.
Kellie Pickler, 38, filed a petition against Reed and Sharon Jacobs, the administrators of Kyle’s estate, over items they claim belonged to him prior to his death, according to court documents obtained by InTouch on Wednesday, according to Daily Mail report.
Kyle passed away by suicide on February 17, 2023 at the age of 49, and though the couple had been together since 2008, Pickler declined to serve as the administrator of his estate, allowing his parents to take control.
The dispute centers around a document called the ‘List of Assets,’ created by Kyle’s parents, which includes personal items they have requested via subpoena, per the outlet.
Among the items listed are Kyle’s gun collection, which includes three rifles, seven pistols, a shotgun, a silencer and a gun safe.
Also on the list are Kyle’s watches, jewelry, a baseball card collection, musical instruments and personal devices such as his work laptop and iPhone.
Pickler’s attorney argues that some of these items are either not in her possession or that their ownership is in dispute.
In her petition, Kellie Pickler claims that Kyle’s parents entered her home to take items after his death but did not provide her with a list of what was taken.
She is now asking the court to compel Reed and Sharon to identify the items they removed.
‘As part of this action, Ms. Kellie Pickler seeks an order requiring the coadministrators to identify the items that they obtained from her home,’ the petition reads.
Pickler has also asked the court to resolve the ongoing conflict regarding the property.
Reed and Sharon, however, dispute Pickler’s claims, insisting that she is in violation of a subpoena requiring the return of the estate’s property.
They argue that Pickler has been uncooperative, providing conflicting information about the location and ownership of the items.
The Jacobs family admits to visiting Pickler’s home to retrieve certain possessions, but they maintain that this was done with Pickler’s explicit consent and at the invitation of both her and her counsel.
They also claim that Pickler had set aside the items in question for them, and therefore, no list of items was necessary.
The couple’s prenup, which outlined the division of property, is also a point of contention.
Reed and Sharon have requested that Pickler’s petition be dismissed, citing the terms of the agreement.
Meanwhile, Pickler has been granted a protective order to prevent the public release of her deposition transcript or video.
Her legal team argues that such disclosure would cause undue embarrassment and burden.
The Jacobs family has objected to this protective order, claiming that the court did not provide a clear justification for the ruling, especially regarding the avoidance of ’embarrassment.’
As of now, the case is ongoing, with both sides preparing for further legal proceedings.
In June, Kellie sold the home she shared with Kyle 15 months after he passed away.
The 4,875 square foot, Tudor-style house is the longtime marital home the couple lived in together and where Jacobs took his own life at age 49 in February 2023.
Nearly nine months after his tragic death, she put the house up for sale for $2.89 million and later reduced the offer to $2.6 million in March in an effort to offload the property.
The American Idol alum, who rose to fame after she finished in sixth place on the fifth season, previously purchased the property for $1.43 million in January 2010 — just one year before she married the music producer.