Judge considers removing Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife as trustee over fund for their children

March 28--A morning victory turned into an afternoon of worry Friday for the ex-wife of murdered NBA star Lorenzen Wright as a judge contemplates removing her as trustee over a fund benefiting the couple's six children.

News broke Friday morning that the Tennessee Court of Appeals had reversed a decision by Shelby County Probate Court Judge Robert Benham to investigate spending by Sherra Robinson Wright.

Benham had concerns about how Sherra Wright spent nearly all of the $1 million in proceeds from an insurance policy on Lorenzen Wright's life. Within months of receiving the money in 2011, Sherra Wright spent $973,000, including $32,000 for a Cadillac Escalade, $26,000 for a Lexus, and $339,000 to buy and improve a new house.

Despite the appeals court ruling, questions about Sherra Wright's spending resurfaced Friday afternoon in a hearing before Circuit Court Judge Karen Williams.

Lorenzen Wright'sHerb Wright, wants Williams to remove Sherra as trustee of the fund, contending that her spending has been reckless and not in the children's best interest.

"Funds have not been managed well. Not prudent. Not as a fiduciary,'' Ruby Wharton, Herb Wright's attorney, told reporters after the hearing. "I mean there are certain responsibilities under the law for a fiduciary.''

Yet Sherra Wright has allegations of her own.

Countering Herb Wright's action, Sherra filed a petition Friday to remove him as executor of his son's estate.

And her lawyer disputes allegations that she's misspent funds.

"He's alleging my client has misused the funds, when in reality the trust owns a million dollars worth of real property,'' said Sherra Wright's lawyer, Christopher F. Donovan. While Donovan acknowledged that Sherra spent a lot of money very quickly, real estate she's purchased in Eads and Arkansas are stable investments that will benefit the children, he said.

"That's a very responsible management of their money,'' Donovan said.

Judge Williams continued the hearing until May 13, but not before she removed the children's guardian ad litem and appointed a new guardian to help investigate allegations of overspending.

The family of Lorenzen Wright has been feuding since the body of the former University of Memphis and Grizzlies player was found July 2010, in a remote field in a still-unsolved murder.

Lorenzen and Sherra Wright had divorced just five months earlier. The divorce settlement included a provision that Lorenzen Wright maintain a $1 million life insurance policy for the benefit of their children.

As trustee of the fund, Sherra Wright was required to file annual spending reports with Circuit Court. But she didn't file her first report until Sept. 28, 2012, after Herb Wright raised the issue in Probate Court where parties were litigating Lorenzen Wright's estate.

Asked Friday about the origins of his contentious relationship with Sherra, Herb Wright shrugged.

"It's one sided. It has nothing to do with me,'' he said. "It was a decision made by her not me.''

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