The Will of Charley Pride is being contested by a secret son
Charley Pride
I recently found a story online about the will challenge commenced by the secret son of the late country music great Charley Pride. According to the story, Pride died in December of 2020 after getting COVID-19 at the age of 86. Tyler Pride filed a lawsuit in May of 2021 alleging he is Pride’s biological child and challenging his will.
Charley Pride was married to Rozene Pride for 64 years. She is the executor of his will. They had three children, Carlton, Dion, and Angela. The will acknowledges these three children but apparently not Tyler.
According to the story, Texas Court records from 1992 contain the results of a DNA test that declared Pride was Tyler’s father. At the time the Court ordered a legal name change from Tyler Tines to Tyler Pride. His father was ordered to pay $92,000 in back child support to Tyler’s mother, Joyce Ann Tines. Tyler has stated that his mother told him who his father was when he was old enough to understand. Joyce had met Pride on a flight while she was working as a flight attendant. Their had an affair that lasted a decade. Tyler has stated that his mother and father did not have a casual affair and that they loved each other.
While Tyler was a child, his father visited his mother until Rozene found out about the affair and forbade it. After this, Tyler spoke with his father three or four times per year. He allegedly told Tyler that he intended to treat all of his children equally but that this was a difficult situation and that he needed to keep peace at home. Tyler has claimed that nobody informed him of Pride’s illness or death and that he learned about it from a friend. Additionally, he was discouraged from attending his father’s funeral was not told where he was buried.
Rozene has released a written statement in response. She has not challenged Tyler’s paternity but has instead accused him of being greedy and of trying to tarnish his father’s reputation. She has also taken the position that Tyler is challenging his father’s estate plan because he hopes to get more money for himself and that Tyler only called his father when he wanted money.
None of these allegations have been proven in Court.
Pride Estate battle likely to continue in the years ahead
Tyler’s allegations about Pride’s estate and family affairs reveal what may likely become an emotionally charged litigation scenario. If Tyler’s allegations are true, then Rozene’s family has shown hostility toward Tyler by not even telling him where his father was buried.
It is unclear what Pride’s estate is worth or how it is to be divided pursuant to his Will. Pride had a long and successful career and it is likely that his estate is worth millions of dollars.
Furthermore, it is unclear how the rights to Pride’s body of work are governed by his estate plan. When a world-famous artist passes away, his or her estate usually has great potential for future earnings from the artist’s body of work. Licensing and publishing rights can generate significant earnings for decades into the future.
As this dispute continues more details are likely to become available. This will be an interesting story to follow.
More on this story here.