Family members of Mickey Rooney have reached an agreement on where and how the actor should be buried, attorneys said Thursday.
Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney died on April 6 at 93.
Mickey Rooney will be buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery alongside other screen legends like Douglas Fairbanks, Cecil B. DeMille and Jayne Mansfield, the parties in the dispute agreed Thursday, according to court documents.
The announcement came ahead of a court hearing slated for Friday morning. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Steele was to decide whether Mickey Rooney’s remains would be released from a mortuary to his estranged wife, Janice Rooney, who wanted to inter him in a pre-arranged family plot, or to his conservator, Michael Augustine, who had said the actor wished to be buried at Hollywood Forever.
The agreement Thursday sidesteps a potentially costly and arduous court battle.
“Despite her strong desire to be buried beside her husband, Jan feels she owes it to Mickey’s fans to work with Mike to allow Mickey to be buried alongside of (sic) other members of Hollywood royalty,” Michael Augustine and Janice Rooney said in a joint statement Thursday.
The dispute began after Mickey Rooney’s lawyers filed a will revealing that the actor left his estate of only $18,000 to a stepson, Mark Aber, and his wife, Charlene, who had served as his primary caretakers.
Mickey Rooney was living with Mark and Charlene Aber when he died.
The actor’s latest will disinherited Janice, Mickey Rooney’s wife of 35 years, and his nine children.
In 2011, Mickey Rooney sued Christopher and Christina Aber – Rooney’s wife’s biological son and wife – for elder abuse, claiming they stole money and deprived him of food and medications and would not let him leave his home. The couple settled the case in October after admitting taking $2.8 million from the actor’s accounts.
Michael Augustine and Janice Rooney will be collaborating on a small funeral for family, which Christopher and Christina Aber are not permitted to attend, the court document said.
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