Legal Issues Raised by the Death of Pete Rose

Baseball fans learned of the recent passing of Pete Rose a/k/a “Charlie Hustle.”  Rose was most closely identified by his championship playing days for the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds.  He was a divisive figure in that he was known as the Hit King for having the most hits of any baseball player as well as other achievements that would have clearly allowed for his election to baseball’s Hall of Fame.  He was permanently banned from baseball and excluded from Hall of Fame ballots for gambling on the outcome of baseball games.  This post will address the legal issues raised by Mr. Rose’s death.

The pride of Cincinnati also led a colorful personal life.  He was married and divorced twice and had a girlfriend at the time of death.  Since he was not married at the time of his death, his girlfriend would not stand to inherit from his estate unless he had a Will and left assets to her. Rose had several children from his marriages.  He may have potentially fathered other children from his illicit romantic affairs, some of which may have been conducted with underage girls.  If Rose did not have a Will, his children (marital or not) would inherit his estate.

Once Rose was banned from baseball, he made a living largely through the sports memorabilia business.  He sold autographed baseballs and other items to his remaining fans.  The memorabilia that he amassed and kept from his playing days would potentially add significant value to his estate.  His estate fiduciary would need to determine the best means by which to dispose of such valuable personal property, unless Rose had a Will providing for direction for its disposition.

At the time of his death, Rose was a resident of Nevada, so his estate will be determined by the Court of that state.  However, if he still maintained property in his home state of Ohio, an ancillary proceeding would be needed to dispose of such property.

Rose’s estate fiduciary will also need to determine if there were outstanding debts of the estate before making distributions.  During his lifetime, Rose went to prison for tax evasion for failing to pay taxes on his gambling profits.

Our firm is available to discuss issues that our readers may encounter that may be similar to those experienced by Pete Rose.