Who Daniel Thomas Broderick Left Out of His Will

The life and murder of Daniel Thomas Broderick is a major piece of USA’s Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, premiering on Tuesday, June 2. Broderick and his wife Linda were murdered in 1989 by his ex-wife, Betty Broderick.

Networthpost.org estimates that Daniel Broderick’s net worth was $1.6 million. While theirs is the only reported net worth for Broderick, a report by the Los Angeles Times on November 15, 1989, following Broderick’s death, claims the estate was worth “over $60,000.”

Dan Broderick Did Not Name His Daughter Lee in His Will

After Broderick was murdered in 1989, he was survived by his children Kim, Rhett, Daniel, and Lee. According to the Los Angeles Times, while Broderick had 4 children, he only named 3 of them in his will – 18-year-old Lee was not included.

Broderick amended his will on August 9, 1988 (one year before his murder) to specify that “I specifically make no provision in this will for my daughter, Lee Gordon Broderick.” For the other 3 children, the estate was to be divided equally, with each named child receiving half of their share at the age of 25 and the other half when they turned 30. At the time Broderick died, Kimberly was 19 years old, Daniel IV was 13, and Rhett was 10.

In response to being omitted from the will, Lee revealed “He had told me before that he was going to write me out, but I didn’t think he would. But he did.” Lee was Broderick’s second-oldest daughter.

Dan Broderick Was Making $1 Million Annually Before His Death

According to the Los Angeles Times, Betty and Dan were at odds regarding how much alimony money Dan owed her annually. Betty believed she deserved $30,000 a month, while Dan said she should only be entitled to $7,316 monthly. At the time, Broderick was making $1 million a year as a successful attorney.

The article reveals that following their separation in August 1985, the two eventually agreed that Dan would give Betty $9,036 a month, tax-free, to cover her monthly expenses. Between August 1985 and December 1986, Dan paid that alimony monthly and claimed to also pay Betty four payments of $10,000 or more. He claimed that one of those payments was as much as $127,784 after they sold their La Jolla home. He also purchased Betty a $650,000 house in La Jolla to live in after their split.

While Betty was arguing that her 9,036 monthly alimony was not enough to support her lifestyle, Los Angeles Times said she explained her “admittedly high” expenses were “consistent with the type of living standard [she] earned during [her] lengthy marriage to Dan.”

After Betty and Dan Broderick divorced in 1985, the case quickly became messy as Betty accused Dan, who was supported by Betty financially during their marriage before he became a successful lawyer, of having an affair with his then-legal assistant Linda. According to Us Weekly, after Dan and Linda married, Betty entered their home and shot and killed them while they were sleeping. She was sentenced to 31 years-to-life in prison on two counts of second-degree murder.

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