The family dispute over the estate of the late actor John Amos has now erupted into a full legal battle.
Shannon Amos and Kelly Christopher (K.C.) Amos, the children of the iconic “Good Times” actor, are going head to head in court after Shannon accused her brother of everything from elder abuse to fraud.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Shannon has filed a petition accusing her brother of “manipulating their father into signing various legal documents — including new wills, trusts and powers of attorney,” which gave him “near-complete control” over their father’s estate. The outlet also reported that Shannon named Amos’ former caretaker Belinda Foster, close associate Eugene Brummett, and his production company Step and One Half Productions in the petition, claiming they were aware of K.C.’s alleged wrongdoing. These included ignoring their father’s medical needs and misusing his funds.
Shannon’s petition seeks a court order to freeze the estate’s assets.
On Saturday, August 23, she made an Instagram post detailing the filing.
Amos died on Aug. 21, 2024, of congestive heart failure at the age of 84. His passing was not publicly announced until October, which led to speculation and confusion online. Shortly after news of his death became public, Shannon made headlines, stating that she had been kept in the dark about her father’s declining health and cremation, which had occurred six weeks earlier.
In a since-deleted Instagram post and video, she expressed her “shock” and “devastation” over his passing, claiming she had learned about it through media reports.
The recently filed lawsuit is the latest development in a long-standing family conflict. In 2016, the “Coming to America” actor was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, marking the beginning of disputes regarding his care and treatment.
Shannon has maintained that her brother intentionally kept their father isolated and frequently moved him to prevent contact with family and friends. The lawsuit also accuses K.C. of closely monitoring any communication Amos had with others, alleging that in 2019 he began “impersonating him in text messages and emails.”
“This calculated and cruel isolation was explicitly designed to render John Amos entirely dependent on K.C. Amos for all of his personal, financial, and critical medical decisions.”
The filing goes on to describe instances in which Amos was living in “unsafe and unsanitary conditions.” Leslie Franklin, a longtime friend, submitted a statement claiming the actor “was kept in hotels surrounded by numerous bags of soiled adult diapers and trash.”
The petition also references a 2023 incident when Amos was hospitalized due to an infection in his feet caused by maggots. This, along with several other hospitalizations that year, triggered a call to Adult Protective Services.
In addition to the allegations of elder abuse, the petition accuses K.C. of taking advantage of their father’s deteriorating mental state. Shannon claims her brother “tricked” Amos into signing new wills and trusts that primarily benefited him. These include documents filed in 2020 that granted K.C. sole ownership of Step and One Half Productions, effectively giving him full control over any residual income generated by the company. The petition clarifies that at the time neither sibling was receiving money from the estate.
Ultimately, Shannon holds K.C. responsible for their father’s death. She alleges that in August 2024, Amos was suffering from “severe abdominal pain,” but was taken to the hospital “too late” to receive adequate treatment.
She further claims that Foster falsely identified herself to doctors as the actor’s daughter.
“What K.C. Amos, Belinda Foster, and Eugene Brummett did in the last years of my father’s life is unfathomable, cruel, and beyond my comprehension,” she said.
K.C. has not publicly responded to the latest filing. However, he has previously denied his sister’s accusations, asserting that their father retained mental competence and made his own decisions.
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