7/10/2008

in

Two of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s children are suing the third over closed-book financial dealings.

Ray Padgett

Though the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. died in 1968, his legacy lives on 40 years later in books, speeches, a national holiday and now . . . a lawsuit.  
  
The civil rights champion's estate is tangled up in a legal dispute among his own children, with two suing the third over financial misconduct. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that their brother, Dexter King, is refusing to provide them with documents concerning financial records.  
  
Bernice King and Martin Luther King III are shareholders in the Georgia estate, but claim Dexter has taken total control. "Martin and Bernice would like to know what's going on in the estate of Martin Luther King, Jr.," said their attorney, Harmon W. Caldwell. "It's that simple."  
  
It isn't that simple, however, as the lawsuit goes on to accuse Dexter King of taking assets from the estate "for his own benefit" and that these funds were "wasted." Specifics about what he took or what he did with it were not provided. He has 30 days to respond to the suit and, according to the Associated Press, has not returned calls for comment.