Key Takeaways
- Wladimir Klitschko filed an emergency petition to temporarily protect the estate inherited by his and Hayden Panettiere’s 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.
- Klitschko cited missing valuables, unauthorized access to Panettiere’s Los Angeles home, and property seized in a federal investigation as threats to Kaya’s inheritance.
- The former heavyweight champion seeks limited authority until a permanent estate administrator takes over, with a court hearing scheduled for October 8.
Wladimir Klitschko is asking a California court to step in before more of Hayden Panettiere’s estate disappears. The former heavyweight champion filed an emergency petition to protect the inheritance of their 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, citing missing valuables, unauthorized access to Panettiere’s Los Angeles home, and property removed by federal investigators after her death.
Kaya is Panettiere’s sole heir, but the filing says no personal representative is currently authorized to safeguard the actress’s property or recover items removed during the ongoing federal investigation. Klitschko wants to serve as temporary guardian of his daughter’s estate until a permanent administrator is appointed.
According to CNN, the fighter’s attorneys filed the petition on Thursday, September 24, in Los Angeles County. A hearing is scheduled for October 8.
“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,” the filing states.
According to the petition, some of Panettiere’s valuables are already unaccounted for. Federal agents have also taken unspecified property connected to their investigation, leaving the estate without an authorized representative who can communicate with investigators and ensure those items are ultimately returned.
The filing describes another threat at Panettiere’s Los Angeles residence. Before her death, she and Klitschko reportedly hired security after an unnamed individual gained unauthorized access to the property. Klitschko’s attorneys now expect that person to continue attempting to “misappropriate” belongings from the estate unless the court grants him immediate authority to intervene.
Klitschko is not seeking permanent control of Panettiere’s affairs. The petition stresses that his requested role would be temporary and limited to protecting Kaya’s future assets while the larger estate process moves forward. He has held full custody of their daughter for most of her life, and Kaya has lived primarily with him in Ukraine since she was 2.
Panettiere and Klitschko began dating in 2009 and announced their engagement in 2013. Kaya was born the following year. Although the couple later separated, Panettiere remained connected to her daughter. Her father told investigators that when she died, she had been planning to visit Kaya in Ukraine days later.
Panettiere was found unresponsive inside a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 16. She was 36. A coroner later ruled that the Heroes and Nashville star died from an accidental overdose involving several drugs, including fentanyl.
She had reportedly been in rehabilitation weeks earlier and had written candidly about addiction and postpartum depression in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
Her death also brought renewed attention to her volatile relationship with Brian Hickerson, who was staying with her in Greenville. Hickerson previously pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or cohabitant.
To date, neither he nor his brother, who was present when authorities arrived, has been accused of criminal involvement in Panettiere’s death.
