Family of late actor Robin Williams reach settlement in legal dispute

The widow and children of late Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams, who died by suicide last year, have reached a proposed settlement after a bitter dispute over his estate, according to court papers.

The settlement, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Oct. 2, dismissed a petition filed by the actor's widow, Susan Schneider Williams, in December 2014 and brings an end to a nearly year-long dispute over a list of over 1,200 items belonging to the late actor.

A lawyer for Susan Williams said in a statement on Monday that the settlement was "highly favourable" and that the home she shared with the late actor will remain in her trust.

"I feel like Robin's voice has been heard and I can finally grieve in the home we shared together," Susan Williams said in a statement from her lawyer James Wagstaffe at Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP.

"While it was painful to have truckloads of his belongings removed from our home, it's the few sentimental items I get to hold onto that mean everything to me. I thank God for this."

Other details of the proposed settlement, contingent on court approval, include Susan Williams keeping gifts from her 2011 wedding to the late actor, a watch often worn by him and a bike the couple bought together on their honeymoon, her lawyer said.

The statement added that Williams' three children will receive "more than 50 bikes and over 85 watches, as well as thousands of never-disputed items like Robin Williams' Academy Award statue."

Representatives for the actor's three children, Zelda, Zachary and Cody Williams, did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Susan Williams, who was the late actor's third wife and not the mother of Zelda, Zachary and Cody Williams, had said in the petition that some property was removed without her permission after the actor's death from the house she had shared with her husband.

In August, attorneys for the three children filed papers in court saying Susan Williams was trying to unjustly increase a reserve fund dedicated to all recurring costs associated with the luxury Tiburon, California, home.

Williams, star of films such as "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," died aged 63 at the home in August 2014. His widow said he was suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease along with severe depression.