Mother-In-Law and Grieving Groom Battle Over Late Wife’s Estate

(NewsSpace.com) – On April 28, Samantha Miller and her fiance, Aric Hutchinson, tied the knot in Folly Beach, South Carolina. What started out as a beautiful day for the couple would soon turn tragic as an SUV slammed into the golf cart they were riding on later in the evening. Miller died, and Hutchinson had months of recovery ahead of him. Now, the grieving husband and his mother-in-law are locked in a battle over Miller’s estate.

Lisa Miller, Samantha’s mother, is contesting the validity of the pair’s marriage in an effort to remove her new son-in-law as the personal representative on Samantha’s estate. Among the reasons, Lisa cites “conflicts of interest” and “issues of potential fraud,” per The Post and Courier. The matter centers on the wrongful death lawsuit, which is expected to result in a hefty payout. The lawsuit names many of the local bars that allegedly overserved the woman driving the SUV, 25-year-old Jamie Lee Komoroski.

Hutchinson’s attorneys are fighting the motion Miller’s attorney has filed to intervene in the lawsuit, saying she has no legal right to the money and her actions are “legally baseless” and “morally questionable.” They say Hutchinson has offered to give Miller half of the settlement amount, even though she’s not legally entitled to it, but she turned it down because she wouldn’t be able to talk about it.

Miller contends that her daughter would have wanted the two to work together, and she is contesting their marriage because Hutchinson is going against what she perceives to be her daughter’s wishes. Miller’s attorney, Jerry Meehan, says that he stands by her actions and that Hutchinson’s lawsuit has been “a money grab” from the start, especially considering how quickly they filed.

Komoroski is still going through the legal process following her arrest, where she was charged with three felony counts of driving under the influence and one count of reckless vehicular homicide. She remains behind bars, but a judge has ordered prosecutors to bring the case to trial by March, or she’ll be released on bond. She had a blood alcohol content of 0.26%, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08% in South Carolina.