Buzz Aldrin Sues Children For Control Over Finances, Relationships, Legacy

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step on lunar surface, filed a lawsuit against two of his three children, who, he claims, have been taking advantage of his old age, misusing his finances and space legacy for their own personal enrichment and bullying his relationships.

The suit, filed against Janice and Andrew Aldrin and former business manager Christina Korp on June 7, alleges the trio has been slandering the 88-year-old former astronaut by saying he suffers from dementia.

This way they established a de facto guardianship over Aldrin and assumed control of assets. According to the suit filed in the Florida judicial circuit court, Andrew and Korp leveraged his personal bank accounts, credit cards, trust money, space artifacts, and exploited the Apollo 11 astronaut’s publicity, business contacts, and clientele for self-dealing.

While the duo has been accused of transferring as much as half a million dollars from Aldrin’s personal accounts over the last two years, Janice was accused of conspiring and not acting in her father’s financial interest.

But that’s not it. Along with finances, his space legacy, and business affairs, Aldrin’s family has also deprived him of personal relationships, the lawsuit noted. It claimed that the former astronaut, who has been married three times, wanted to start another relationship, but his family has prevented him from doing that. They have “specifically and deliberately...undermined, bullied, and defamed” all of his romantic relationships.

That said, the case now aims to remove Andrew as the trustee of Aldrin’s estate and retain the former astronaut’s control over Buzz Aldrin Enterprises and his not-for-profit organization, ShareSpace Foundation. It also seeks to restore his access to millions of dollars’ worth of space memorabilia, artifacts and all other assets involved.

“Dr. Aldrin considers it unfortunate and discouraging that he has been forced into this situation,” Robert W. Bauer, his lawyer said in a statement. “However, Dr. Aldrin knows this is necessary to protect his future and his vision for America’s Space Program.”

The lawsuit came shortly after Andrew, Janice, and Korp filed a petition to be appointed as Aldrin’s legal co-guardians and take control of his finances. They alleged Aldrin is suffering from cognitive decline, has been spending money at an alarming rate, and acquainting with people who are trying to separate him from family, BBC reported.

“We are deeply disappointed and saddened by the unjustified lawsuit that has been brought against us individually and against the Foundation that we have built together as a family to carry on Dad’s legacy for generations to come,” Aldrin’s children said in a statement. “When we established the current structure several years ago, it was done so at Buzz’s request and with his full support. If nothing else, our family is resilient and our ability to work together to solve problems and accomplish great things is strong.”

As part of the legal proceedings, three mental health experts appointed by the court are scheduled to conduct a competency exam to determine the current status of Aldrin’s cognitive abilities.