News broke back in March that Frances Bean Cobain was filing for divorce after less than two years of marriage to Isaiah Silva. It was made clear that he was not entitled to any of the money from her late father, Kurt Cobain’s $450 million dollar estate. Frances was the one to file for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ and according to TMZ reports she stated that she was open to discussing spousal support …however since then there has been a recent dramatic development in this initially straightforward split. The New York Daily News notes that the two are currently going head to head in court battling over which of the two has legal ownership to Kurt Cobain’s D-18E acoustic-electric guitar. It is a very rare guitar, and it was the very instrument he played while filming the now infamous “MTV Unplugged” episode. It was the last guitar he played as he committed suicide approximately six months later. To any Nirvana fan wanting to buy this instrument, it would most likely sell for millions, but to the child of the deceased artist, this could be considered a priceless and irreplaceable possession.
Isaiah is claiming that the guitar was gifted to him by Frances on their wedding night, Frances, in turn, is denying this claim wholeheartedly. Courtney Love, Frances’ mother, voiced her opinion on the matter as well, stating: “It’s not his…it’s a treasured family heirloom”. Even without the direct correlation to Cobain the instrument itself would be considered a valued collectable to any musician since there were only 300 models made, not to mention the custom modification made so that it could be left-handed friendly. Love has added fuel to the divorce fire by stating she’s “glad [Frances is] out of this dangerous and toxic relationship.” Even if the ownership of the guitar is currently up in the air, one thing is for certain, the loss of this guitar in conjunction with her decision to get a divorce has brought the estranged pair of Love and Cobain back together… Love and Cobain….now that’s a set of last names that throws us back to the glorious grunge days of the 90’s.
The legal process will soon shed light on who is entitled to the famous instrument. Stay tuned for a correlating post that will be outlining how the Canadian legal system deals with legal rights and ownership of gifts in the process of separation.
Please note the above information is not legal advice of any kind, the information quoted was used from online news sources, and you should be sure to speak to a qualified Toronto family law lawyer about your specific situation. For more information, call us at 905-273-4588 or email us at contact@kainfamilylaw.com to book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our experienced family law lawyers.