Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko’s daughter, Kaya, was by her father’s side during a hearing over her late mother’s estate.
Kaya, 11, appeared remotely alongside Klitschko, 50, at the court hearing on Thursday, October 8, People reported.
Panettiere’s only child was briefly seen on camera, confirming her identity to the judge when asked whether she was with her father. Kaya wore a white T-shirt and had her hair pulled back as she responded to the questions.
The hearing was about guardianship over Panettiere’s estate following her death in August at the age of 36. (The coroner’s office in Greenville, South Carolina, later ruled that Panettiere died from the “toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine.” Her death was determined to be accidental.)
Klitschko was granted temporary guardianship of Panettiere’s estate during the hearing after his attorney Diane Y. Park informed the judge that the former boxer was requesting the additional powers to “request” and “authorize” law enforcement to investigate and aid in “recovery of property believed to be misappropriated” by a non-family member as Panettiere’s estate continues to get sorted.
The judge also noted that Kaya doesn’t have to attend the next court date set for December 7.
Us has reached out to Klitschko and Panettiere’s legal teams.
Klitschko and Panettiere dated on and off from 2009 to 2018 and got engaged in 2013.
Following Panettiere’s death, Us confirmed that Klitschko filed for temporary guardianship of Kaya’s estate in September, as she is a minor and the sole inheritor of Panettiere’s estate.
“It is urgent and essential that Wladimir be immediately appointed Temporary Guardian of Kaya’s Estate, to afford Wladimir the necessary standing to file Hayden’s Probate Petition, and the power to nominate a proposed Administrator of Hayden’s Estate,” the legal docs obtained by Us read. “Without an immediate appointment for these purposes, there is a high probability that property belonging to Hayden’s Estate may be lost, damaged or dissipated before a duly appointed personal representative can be in place to protect it. This directly and adversely affects Kaya, as she is the sole heir entitled to the entirety of Hayden’s probate estate.”
Klitschko asked the court to be named the guardian so he could “have standing to file” and “nominate a proposed administrator” on his daughter’s behalf in order to “protect” her rights to the Heroes alum’s estate.
The ruling comes after Klitschko filed court documents earlier this week, demanding answers from law enforcement about why personal items belonging to Panettiere ended up in a pawn shop.
“The pawn shop has declined to disclose specific item information without being contacted by law enforcement,” he claimed in the docs. “There is a real and continuing risk that any remaining items, including jewelry, believed to belong to Hayden, will be sold, transferred or otherwise rendered unrecoverable.”
The athlete pointed out “no personal representative of Hayden’s estate has yet been appointed,” and nobody “has authority to request law enforcement assistance in investigating the recovery of Hayden’s property, to the direct financial detriment of Kaya, Hayden’s sole intestate.”
TMZ reported on Wednesday, October 7, that Klitschko claimed in separate court documents that he’s been putting up $30,000 of his own money to prevent Panettiere’s estate from being hit with interest and penalties.
