Leaving your wife out of a trust might sound like terrible estate planning—but in Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s case, the situation appears more complicated. His mother, Pamela Warner, recently said the trust Malcolm created in 1996 named her, his father and his sister, while his wife, Tenisha, and their daughter were provided for separately.

However, court documents tell another important part of the story. Tenisha says Malcolm intended to update that decades-old estate plan after they married and had their daughter, but died before completing the changes. She has also claimed that their 2022 prenuptial agreement required him to maintain a $1 million life-insurance policy naming her as beneficiary, along with other financial commitments. She is seeking roughly $1.27 million from the estate.

Pamela now says Malcolm did intentionally provide for his wife and daughter outside the trust, allegedly to the tune of millions of dollars. She also says a settlement has been reached that would give Malcolm’s daughter the majority of the remaining trust and estate, although the agreement still requires court approval.

So was Malcolm’s estate plan a mistake—or was it deliberately structured this way? The answer may ultimately depend on documents and agreements that have not all been made public. What do you think: was this intentional planning, or did Malcolm simply run out of time to update an outdated trust?