Casey Kasem Estate Settlement: Wrongful Death, Trust, and Insurance

The Casey Kasem estate settlement was reached in December 2019, when the wrongful death lawsuit brought by three of Kasem’s older children and his brother against his widow, Jean Kasem, and the countersuit Jean and her daughter Liberty had filed in response, were both dismissed under confidential terms in Santa Monica Superior Court. Separate fights over a $2 million life insurance payout and Kasem’s family trust ran alongside the wrongful death case, and two criminal reviews of Jean’s conduct closed without charges. Kasem, who died June 15, 2014, at age 82 from complications of Lewy body dementia, remains buried at Vestre Cemetery in Oslo, Norway.¹²

How the Wrongful Death Case Ended

Kerri, Julie, and Michael Kasem, along with Casey’s brother Mouner Kasem, filed the civil wrongful death lawsuit against Jean Kasem in Los Angeles Superior Court on November 25, 2015. The complaint sought more than $250,000 in damages and pleaded wrongful death, elder abuse, and infliction of emotional distress.³

On December 2, 2019, attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a request for dismissal. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed by either side.¹² Kerri Kasem, the most public of the plaintiffs, had said earlier in the case, “We would rather see her in jail than receive one dime. We don’t care about the money. We care about justice.”³

What the Children Alleged

The complaint set out a detailed account of what the plaintiffs described as neglect and interference with Casey Kasem’s medical care in the weeks leading up to his death. Key allegations included:

Jean removed Casey from medical facilities, blocked hospital staff from placing feeding tubes, and refused to authorize treatment.
She hired private guards to monitor visits, required family members to sign restrictive agreements before seeing Casey, and repeatedly hid his location from his children and the court-appointed conservator.
After a multi-week road trip taken without proper care, Casey suffered malnourishment, infections, and a deep stage-three bedsore infected with two types of bacteria.
Jean moved Casey against medical advice to a Las Vegas hotel and later to Washington state, keeping him beyond the reach of his children and the court.
Jean violated Casey’s expressed wish to be buried at Forest Lawn by having his body sent to Norway and placed in an unmarked grave without a ceremony.

The complaint also described a physical confrontation during one of Casey’s transfers, alleging “Jean’s biker security people physically assaulted the investigator” and that Jean threw raw ground beef at people helping to transport her husband.⁴

In March 2016, the plaintiffs amended the complaint to add Liberty Kasem, Casey and Jean’s daughter, as a defendant, alleging she participated in moving her father to Washington and that a week in Jean and Liberty’s custody produced the severe bedsore that preceded his death. Liberty had previously told a probate court that her father received “good care” from her mother and that those claiming otherwise “were not telling the truth.”⁵

The Countersuit From Jean and Liberty

Jean Kasem and Liberty filed a counterclaim alleging that the children from Casey’s first marriage were “motivated by their desire to get his money after he cut them off financially in 2012” and that they had caused emotional distress to both Jean and Casey.⁶ The countersuit was dismissed as part of the same December 2019 settlement that resolved the children’s claims.

The $2 Million Life Insurance Fight

In late 2014, MetLife filed interpleader actions in Los Angeles federal court to resolve competing claims to life insurance benefits totaling more than $2 million. On one side was Jean Kasem, acting as trustee of the Casey Kasem Trust. On the other were Casey’s four children: Kerri, Julie, Michael, and Liberty.⁷

The children argued Jean should be disqualified under California Probate Code Section 250, which bars a person involved in another’s death from inheriting. Jean’s lawyers responded that one or more of the children might bear responsibility for Casey’s death.⁷

In August 2016, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin discharged MetLife from the case, awarded the insurer roughly $20,000 in attorney fees, and barred the family from further suing MetLife over the benefits.⁸

The Trust Dispute

Casey Kasem established a revocable trust in February 1982, and the family fight turned on which later version controlled. His older children pointed to a 2003 amendment, which they said granted Jean a life estate, distributed Casey’s half of the estate to Kerri, Julie, and Mike, and gave Jean a power of appointment only over her own half. Jean put forward a 2011 trust document that purportedly gave her a power of appointment over the entire estate.⁹

In 2018, the children filed a motion to dismiss Jean’s petition to validate the 2011 trust. Kerri Kasem, who had been appointed special administrator of the estate after her father’s death, led that effort.⁹ Publicly available reporting does not indicate how the trust dispute was ultimately resolved.

Why No One Was Criminally Charged

Two criminal reviews of Jean Kasem’s conduct closed without charges, which is why the civil suit became the family’s only path to a formal reckoning.

In May 2015, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file elder abuse charges. Deputy District Attorney Belle M. Chen found “insufficient evidence,” noting that Kasem’s “longstanding profound health issues” made it impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that neglect or abuse played a role in his death. The evaluation also noted that Jean had made “continuous efforts to ensure that Mr. Kasem was medically supervised.”¹⁰¹¹

Then in 2018, Gig Harbor police in Washington conducted an administrative review of a complaint alleging criminal responsibility for Kasem’s death. Investigators found no evidence of a crime, concluding that Kasem “received appropriate care and that any medical decisions were made by family authorized to act on his behalf.”¹²

No autopsy was ever performed. A private pathologist retained by Jean Kasem concluded Casey died of natural causes, and his official cause of death was listed as complications from dementia.¹⁰¹³

The Burial in Norway

The burial question was never resolved in the older children’s favor. Casey’s children said he had wanted to be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, and cited letters from friends and colleagues supporting that. Despite a court order intended to prevent the removal of his remains from a funeral home in Tacoma, Washington, Jean moved the body to Montreal and then to Norway in mid-August 2014.¹⁴

Jean said Casey “always said that Norway symbolizes peace and looks like heaven” and that she wanted to “respectfully fulfill his wishes.”¹⁵ Mike Kasem said his father had no known personal connection to the country and that Jean had never mentioned Norway in 35 years.¹⁴ Jean’s own nephew denied she had Norwegian ancestry.¹⁶

Kasem was buried at Vestre Cemetery in Oslo on December 16, 2014, six months after his death. Because the body had not been embalmed during the months-long delay, further investigation of the cause of death became effectively impossible.¹⁵¹³ Norwegian authorities declined to return the body, with Oslo’s director of funeral services stating, “Clearly, we cannot dig up the body again if she doesn’t move to Norway.”¹⁶

Where Things Stand

The wrongful death lawsuit and countersuit are dismissed under a confidential 2019 agreement. The federal life insurance interpleader closed in 2016 with MetLife discharged and the underlying claims left to the family. The two criminal reviews are closed with no charges. Casey Kasem remains buried in Oslo. The one significant piece with no public resolution is the trust fight over which version of Casey’s estate plan governs, last active in 2018.

1
NBC Los Angeles. Kasem Wrongful Death Case Settled
2
Los Angeles Times. Children of Casey Kasem Settle Lawsuit With Widow Over Death
3
ABC7 New York. Casey Kasem’s Widow Sued for Wrongful Death
4
Courthouse News Service. Kasem Family Lawsuit Turns Toward Nasty
5
CBS News Los Angeles. Casey Kasem’s Oldest Children Name Half-Sister as Part of Wrongful Death Lawsuit
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Fox 13 Seattle. Children of Casey Kasem Settle Lawsuit With Widow Over Death
7
Courthouse News Service. Who Gets Casey Kasem’s $2 Million
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Courthouse News Service. Insurer Excused From Casey Kasem Estate Fight
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KFI AM 640. Kasem Children Renew Trust Fight With Their Stepmom
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Los Angeles Times. Casey Kasem’s Wife Won’t Face Abuse Charges
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NBC DFW. Casey Kasem’s Widow Will Not Face Elder Abuse Charges
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KRGV. Police Review: No Evidence of a Crime in Casey Kasem’s Death
13
Billboard. Casey Kasem Buried in Norway
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BBC News. Casey Kasem Remains Burial Application Filed in Norway
15
The Columbian. Casey Kasem Body Buried in Norway
16
The Hollywood Reporter. Norway Denies Casey Kasem Family Request