Elliott Smith's girlfriend won't see a dime
The girlfriend of troubled troubadour Elliott Smith won't collect any cash from his estate, a California appellate court ruled, because she acted as an unlicensed talent agent, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jennifer Chiba sought more than $1 million from the Oscar-nominated songwriter's estate. She claimed she was his manager and agent, booking gigs for him, which entitled her to 15 percent of his worth. So if roughly $1 million equals 15 percent of his worth, that means his estate is worth how many millions? (Sorry, I was told there would be no math.) Besides working for him, she claimed she should be paid because she lived with him, they were basically husband and wife, and says he promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. But the court said that the fact that she acted as an unlicensed talent agent prohibited her from making a claim on his estate under a "cohabitative agreement."
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ELLIOTT SMITH
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4 Responses
October 17, 2007 at 5:01 p.m.
| China |
Was he really worth that much? I can't imagine him being worth so many millions. Also, is it just me or is it in poor taste to try and squeeze money out of the death of someone you were in love with? |
October 17, 2007 at 10:56 p.m.
| John Zeiss |
If Dreamworks was bankrolling him, why wouldn't he be well off? |
October 19, 2007 at 2:10 p.m.
| China |
That's a good point. I just didn't think he'd sold that many albums. |










Is she now totally above any suspicion that she was involved with his death?