The contentious legal battle between Kellie Pickler and her late husband, Kyle Jacobs’ parents is heating up.
Reed and Sharon Jacobs filed additional objections in the ongoing estate dispute over Kyle’s possessions on Tuesday, May 6, arguing that Pickler is attempting to legally undo all of the previous probate proceedings that have occurred over the last two years.
“For nearly the entire history of this case, she has argued that there exists unidentified agreements between the parties that are so sensitive and confidential that they should remain unidentified and their terms concealed from any public filing,” the couple argues, according to new court documents obtained by Us Weekly, in reference to Pickler’s request to keep the filings under seal.
The couple goes on to claim via court documents that no such “sensitive” and “confidential” agreements exist and that Pickler has yet to provide any factual or legal basis for her legal request.
“It is inevitable in any lawsuit that information otherwise unknown to the public at large may be disclosed,” the filing continues. “But purely subjective desire for absolute secrecy is insufficient to satisfy the heavy burden of proof required to justify the sealing of judicial records.”
The parents are also arguing that Pickler’s recent attempt to dismiss the subpoena demanding she return items belonging to her late husband is her turning “a convenient blind eye to the months of discussions with her counsel concerning the items” in their son’s estate, as well as “the cooperation among counsel in arranging a mutually agreeable date and method of production.”
Kyle died by suicide in February 2023 at the age of 49. Nearly one year later, his parents — who are the coadministrators of his estate — allegedly requested that Pickler return many of their late son’s belongings that they claim remained at Pickler and Kyle’s home at the time of his death.
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In May 2023, Pickler allegedly provided her late husband’s family with what she claimed was an inventory of his personal property. For the next 12 months, the family claims they attempted to informally recover a number of those items — including Kyle’s gun collection, watches, jewelry, musical instruments and more — through discussions with Pickler and her lawyer, but say they only had limited success.
The family claims Pickler not only agreed to return several items, but failed to do so despite that agreement and later admitted to having them but subsequently claimed she was unable to find them. The parents allege Pickler also “forbade” the family from entering the home in order to retrieve the items — at one point they claim Kellie insisted the family pay for a professional moving company to remove the items from the home.
The family has since filed a petition for civil contempt against Pickler — a petition she subsequently filed a motion for the court to dismiss and one the parents are now requesting the court deny.
“[The motion to dismiss is the] latest attempt to stymie the administrators’ good faith efforts to move this matter towards its long overdue conclusion,” court documents read. “It is too little, too late.” The parents are additionally requesting the court enforce the subpoena.
Pickler, for her part, is claiming via court documents filed on Tuesday that the subpoena is unreasonable as she was instructed to appear at an attorney’s office with property that “included numerous items that would be unsafe and frankly absurd to bring to the offices… Including a gun, safe, numerous firearms and a grand piano.”
