NEW YORK — Two daughters of classic American jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett have sued their brother over his handling of the late entertainer’s estate, demanding an accounting of assets.
The lawsuit, filed in New York on Wednesday by Antonia and Johanna Bennett, accuses brother D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett of failing to reveal all the proceeds from a sale of Tony Bennett’s catalog and certain image rights to a brand development company Iconoclast.
The suit claims “it remains unclear what music assets (and other property) were or were not sold as part of the deal” because the sisters “have not been provided with various details of the transaction despite repeated requests,” The Associated Press said, citing the court filing.
Bennett’s will stipulated all the singer’s “tangible personal property” should be divided equally among Bennett’s children after the family trust’s expenses are covered, USA Today said.
Tony Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Long Island City, New York, and created musical standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” He released more than 70 albums over his career and won 19 competitive Grammys.
He died in July 2023 at age 96. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Danny Bennett was Tony Bennett’s manager. He also is in charge of the family trust that the singer set up in 1994 for the benefit of his wife, Susan Crow, and four children. Crow and brother Daegal “Dae” Bennett also are named in the lawsuit.
Bennett’s daughters claim in the lawsuit that their father earned over $100 million from live performances over the last 15 years of his career but that Bennett’s gross estate is purportedly valued at less than $7 million, USA Today said.
Danny reportedly got loans from Bennett totaling $1.2 million in 2020, but the daughters say they’ve received no details on the circumstances of the loans or their authorization. And they also question $4.2 million in lifetime gifts Danny is said to have received, which is “more than double the value of gifts to each of Bennett’s other three children.”
“Although Danny and his counsel have provided piecemeal information and produced some documents to petitioners’ counsel, the information provided raises more questions than answers and fails to provide anything close to an accounting of Tony’s assets and financial affairs,” the court filing said.