Disputes often occur between family members perceived as the clan’s favorites and those seen as black sheep.

By Lisa Shidler June 4, 2007

CHICAGO — The son of former National Enquirer owner Generoso Pope Jr. is fighting his mother in a battle that has all of the makings of a story that the elder Mr. Pope might have splashed over the cover of his lurid supermarket tabloid.

Paul Pope is suing his mother, Lois, alleging that the trust his father left to her was mismanaged, citing the fact that it has grown less than 1% annually over a 17-year period, to $218 million.
Some industry experts say that not even an ironclad estate plan could have avoided the tangled, sordid fight.

But despite its outsize dimensions, such situations are not uncommon, advisers say.
These types of family squabbles occur frequently but go under the radar because the families aren’t famous, said James Lange, a Pittsburgh-based tax attorney and principal of James Lange & Associates.

Paul Pope: He is suing his mother for allegedly mismanaging a trust his father left her. “It happens very frequently with smaller estates — two brothers fighting over mom’s estate. It happens all of the time,” Mr. Lange said.

Black sheep
Disputes often occur between family members perceived as the clan’s favorites and those seen as black sheep.

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