The fight for Patrick Swayze's fortune

On the 12th anniversary of his death, the star’s family is still at war over his will

Patrick Swayze vowed, “to leave this Earth knowing I gave something back”. And when he died on September 14, 2009, at age 57 from pancreatic cancer, he not only left a lasting legacy but a $55 million fortune!

But 12 years on, the Dirty Dancing star’s widow Lisa Niemi and his family are sadly still at odds over his will. Patrick left his entire estate to his wife of 34 years but sources say the Ghost star’s relatives are still reeling after being cut out.

“They loved Patrick and spent time with him towards the end of his life,” says an insider. “They feel they deserve a piece of the pie.”

CHANGING THE WILL

In fact, some family members have even questioned the validity of the actor’s will, which was reportedly changed just seven weeks before his death.

“They are suspicious of the timing and think there are red flags all over the place,” says the source. “They don’t know why Patrick would write a new one.” According to Lisa’s camp though, the actor had always intended to leave everything to his wife and the only alteration he made to his will was to ensure Lisa, 65, kept financially supporting his mother, Patsy Swayze.