By Helen Clark
PERTH (Reuters) -The ex-husband of Virginia Giuffre, who was one of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers and took her own life in April, may add his name to the list of those fighting over her estate, lawyers in an Australian court said on Friday.
Robert Giuffre, an Australian martial arts instructor who was married to Virginia from 2002 until shortly before her death at the age of 41, according to media reports, could join as a party seeking access to the estate, alongside the former couple's sons Noah and Christian, their lawyer Jon Patty told the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Court filings show the two sons applied to manage the estate but were opposed by Virginia's former lawyer Karrie Louden and former carer Cheryl Myers.
Robert could also join as guardian to their young daughter, Patty said in a short case management hearing. Patty added that an independent party could be appointed to represent the daughter to prevent a conflict of interest. The court did not allow publication of the daughter's name because she is a child.
No representative for Robert was present in court and he could not immediately be reached.
Virginia Giuffre gained global attention with allegations that she was trafficked to Britain's former Prince Andrew as a teenager. That case was settled in 2022 with a substantial donation and undisclosed payment. Andrew was stripped of his titles in October after the release of Giuffre's posthumous memoir, which detailed new allegations against the 65-year-old who is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Giuffre was involved in at least four lawsuits when she died, according to court filings. But she did not have a valid will so the court appointed an administrator to oversee her estate, effectively reopening the cases.
At the hearing, registrar Danielle Davies heard the list of people vying for access to Giuffre's estate might grow.
A $10 million defamation claim filed in 2021 by a person associated with Epstein is among the pending lawsuits. Epstein was jailed in 2008 for child sex offences and killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.
Australian court filings show there are also contests over Giuffre's memoir rights and inheritance claims.
Davies, the registrar, gave the parties until Monday to submit more documents outlining their claims, and said a date for the next case management hearing would be set next year.
(Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Byron Kaye and Kate Mayberry)
