Family feud over Zsa Zsa Gabor's will leads to lawsuit

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) _ A multimillion-dollar family feud over who controls ailing socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor's will has spilled into the courtroom. <br/><br/>Gabor, 88, and her ninth husband are

Sunday, June 5th 2005, 7:27 am

By: News On 6

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) _ A multimillion-dollar family feud over who controls ailing socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor's will has spilled into the courtroom.

Gabor, 88, and her ninth husband are suing her only daughter, accusing Francesca Hilton of stealing $2 million by forging her mother's signature to take out a loan on Gabor's $14 million Bel Air home.

The inheritance spat involves family names associated with the most lavish of lifestyles. Hilton's father was Gabor's second husband, hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. She's the great-aunt of Paris and Nicky Hilton.

The suit filed Wednesday in Superior Court alleges elder abuse, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks to force Hilton to return the money and asks for punitive damages. A judge Friday scheduled motions to be heard on June 28.

Gabor remains partially paralyzed from a 2002 car accident and Hilton said her mental health is suffering.

Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, Gabor's husband of 19 years, declined to make her available to speak with an Associated Press reporter. He said she is ``just furious'' at her daughter's actions.

``(Hilton) always comes for a handout to her mother,'' he said. ``She always wants money, money, money, money.''

Hilton, 47, called her mother ``a manic-depressive'' but said she remains close to her and was outraged when she was locked out of Gabor's home last Mother's Day.

``I never in my life thought I'd be going to court against my mother,'' she said. She said she despises her stepfather and accused him of being ``in it for the money.''

``You know what elder abuse is? That's what's happening with my mother,'' she said. Frederic is trying to take everything. I refinanced the house with her permission in order to stop that.''

Gabor, a native of Hungary, appeared in numerous films in the 1950s, then followed with guest roles in television series, specials and game shows. She has often played herself, parlaying her larger-than-life, haughty glamour into a half-century stay in the limelight.

Her royal air has sometimes gotten her in trouble. In 1989, she slapped a Beverly Hills police officer who stopped her for expired license plates. She was sentenced to 72 hours in jail and 120 hours of community service at a women's shelter.