Judge Orders Estate Solution By: Stephanie M. Mangino The Winchester Star A Winchester Circuit Court judge recommended the brother and sister of legendary singer Patsy Cline use an egg timer in splitting up their mother’s estate. The estate of Cline’s mother, Hilda V. Hensley, has been unsettled since her Dec. 10, 1998, death. Many items, including stage costumes sewn by Hensley and worn by her famous daughter, were returned to Hensley’s home after Cline perished in a March 5, 1963, Tennessee plane crash. Cline, born Virginia Hensley, spent her formative years in Winchester, and her mother lived most of her life in town. Cline reached the top of pop and country charts with hits like “Crazy,” and “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Cline’s brother and sister, Samuel L. Hensley and Sylvia M. Wilt, have battled over their mother’s possessions in court, at least since 2001, and on Thursday, Winchester Circuit Court Judge John E. Wetsel Jr. said he wanted to see the wrangling end. He clarified an earlier order he had made to sell the Cline possessions in the Hensley estate to cover its debts. Sixteen items auctioned in November 2003 by New York auction house Christie’s netted $123,919. Wetsel said with the payment of debt, the terms of the estate disbursement reverted to Hilda Hensley’s wish to split her estate equally between her two remaining children. “Here’s the way it’s gonna work,” Wetsel said. “They’ve got a minute. One minute to make their choice.” No hemming and hawing will be allowed, and the siblings will rotate choices, Wetsel added. Later in the brief hearing, Wetsel decided the distribution of roughly 140 items could work however the parties wanted, but it must be finished by July 16. The two sides were ordered to reappear in court on July 22. “I’m very glad that Judge Wetsel made this decision,” Wilt said, adding it reflects her mother’s wishes. Samuel Hensley did not attend Thursday’s hearing. Wilt said it will be interesting to see how the distribution affects a civil suit brought against her by her brother and estate administrator Charles R. Alton. A 2002 Winchester Circuit Court jury found that Wilt did not intentionally take or destroy estate items, as the plaintiffs claimed. However, that trial did not cover all the items the suit alleged Wilt mishandled, and the case officially remains open.

Originally Published In The Winchester Star On May 21, 2004







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