Vanessa Bryant has been dealt with greater heartache after her own mother, Sofia Urbieta, filed a lawsuit against her and her late husband Kobe Bryant’s estate.
Why is Sofia Urbieta suing her daughter?
Less than a year after the LA Lakers basketball icon and his daughter Gianna died in a tragic helicopter accident, there is a tug of war over his multi-million dollar estate.
According to court documents shared on Instagram by entertainment reporter Dave Valadez, Urbieta has filed a lawsuit against her daughter and late husband at a court in Orange County, California.
In the court papers, Byrant’s mom claims for many years, she has helped the couple as a nanny and personal assistant and “was never paid for her services despite promises to the contrary by Kobe Bryant.”
“Specifically, Kobe Bryant promised to take care of Plaintiff financially for the rest of her life,” Urbieta’s attorneys noted in the court papers.
This was Vanessa Bryant’s response to the lawsuit
At this time, it’s unclear if the matter will receive a court date. However, the lawsuit prompted Bryant to come out and respond to her mom publicly.
The grieving wife of the Lakers legend posted an open letter on Instagram, where she addressed the allegations made by her mom and opened the lid into a mother-daughter relationship that, for years, has been plagued by financial issues.
This is the translated version of what Bryant said in response to her mom:
My mother keeps trying to find ways to get a financial windfall from our family. I have supported her for almost twenty years, and she was never my personal assistant or Kobe’s or [our] babysitter. I have always been a home mother and my husband and I took care of our children all the time. For almost two decades, we arranged for my mother to live in our nearby properties at no cost to her because she had claimed that she had no money to buy her own home after her divorce.
My husband and I thought it was better for her not to live in our house. She took care of our girls from time to time, as most grandparents do. She did not deal with business matters or expenses. She was a grandmother who was supported by me and her son-in-law at my request to charge her $96 (R1 415) per hour for supposedly working 12 hours a day for 18 years to care for her grandchildren.
Actually, she only occasionally babysat my older girls when they were little. Ten years ago, our children were full-time students and athletes and I did not have another child until 2016. Her claims are obviously false, but I still tried, repeatedly, to fix things with my mother. Contrary to what it says, I have not left my children’s side since the accident, except to visit the cemetery and make arrangements.
Earlier this year, she was looking for a new home for herself, and a week later she went on TV and gave an interview in which she despised our family and made false accusations while living rent-free in a gated apartment complex in Newport Coast. Even after that tradition, I was willing to give my mother monthly support for the rest of her life and that was not good enough.
On the other hand, she contacted me through intermediaries (contrary to what she claims, my phone number has not changed) and demanded five million, a house and a Mercedes truck. Because I did not give in to her hurtful threats and monetary requests, she has gotten out of control making false and absurd claims. now she is trying to get more money than my husband and I spent to support her while she continues to collect her ex-husband’s monthly alimony since 2004.
My husband and I have never discouraged or prevented her from supporting herself. This demand is frivolous, embarrassing and promised nothing to my mother, and I would be very disappointed with her behaviour and lack of empathy.
Tuesday 26 January 2021 will mark the anniversary of Kobe’s tragic passing.