Hayden Panettiere’s 11-year-old daughter Kaya appeared by video at a court hearing in Los Angeles Thursday, Oct. 8, as her father, Wladimir Klitschko, won permission to enlist police in recovering missing property. This allegedly includes jewelry “misappropriated”
from the late Nashville star’s estate.
Kaya spoke first at the hearing, politely greeting the judge from a seat in front of a set of curtains. “Was that you, Kaya?” the judge asked. “Yes, that was me,” she replied. Her dad said he was with her using the same account, so he only had an audio connection. They then turned off Kaya’s camera as Klitschko’s lawyer explained what they were requesting.
Kaya is Panettiere’s sole heir, the lawyer previously stated in court filings. Because she’s a minor, the court needed to appoint a guardian of her estate to handle legal matters connected to Panettiere’s unexpected Aug. 16 death at the age of 36, the lawyer said.
“There’s currently an ongoing investigation concerning [Panettiere], so we need to have an administrator appointed to be able to interface with the investigators,” the attorney, Diane Park, told the court. She said law enforcement also had property belonging to the estate that the family wanted returned as soon as possible.
“We also believe there’s a non-family member associated with [Panettiere] who misappropriated personal property that belongs to the decedent’s estate, and we believe the person has gone to a pawn shop to try to sell what we believe is jewelry,” Park said. The lawyer did not identify the person but confirmed that both the individual and the property were in Los Angeles County.
Judge Stephanie Santoro granted Klitschko’s request, appointing him temporary guardian of his daughter’s estate and authorizing him to file a probate petition on her behalf. He was also given permission to sign Panettiere’s outstanding 2025 state and federal tax returns, and “request and authorize law enforcement to recover personal property.” The temporary powers will remain in effect until a follow-up hearing on Dec. 7.
Klitschko sought the powers last month, claiming unidentified, non-family members previously connected to Panettiere had “accessed and destroyed Hayden’s emails,” and that some of her jewelry appeared to be “missing.” In a follow-up, he claimed the jewelry had already been sold to the pawn shop.
“The pawn shop has declined to disclose specific item information without being contacted by law enforcement,” he and his lawyers claimed. “Absent such a contact, there is a real and continuing risk that any remaining items, including jewelry believed to belong to Hayden will be sold, transferred or otherwise rendered unrecoverable.”
Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs during a trip to South Carolina, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. Her death was ruled an accident.
In addition to fentanyl, toxicology tests detected alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax; the muscle relaxant methocarbamol; and quetiapine, a medication primarily used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and, in some cases, depression. The coroner said there was no evidence that physical trauma contributed to her death.
In his filings, Klitschko said that before Panettiere died, he and the Heroes actress had hired a security service to protect her home and belongings due to concerns that an unidentified person had “gained unauthorized access” to the property. After her death, the security service changed the locks, Klitschko said, and storage units containing designer clothing and accessories Panettiere had worn at public appearances were moved as a precaution.
“It is expected that the individual will continue to try and misappropriate property belonging to Hayden’s estate,” his court filings said. “Given the high publicity of Hayden’s estate, a personal representative needs to be appointed immediately to safeguard and protect Hayden’s home and contents.”
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