Will of Fred Trump Sr.
in the 1980s Fred Trump Sr.'s will left the bulk of his estate, in equal shares, to his surviving children, while each of his grandchildren was left $200,000. In 1981, when Mary's father predeceased him, Fred Sr.'s lawyers had recommended amending his will, to leave Fred Trump Jr.'s children larger shares than the grandchildren with living parents, writing that "Given the size of your estate, this is tantamount to disinheriting them. You may wish to increase their participation in your estate to avoid ill will in the future." However, Fred Trump Sr. refused to do so. and about two years later began to suffer from
Alzheimer's disease. Donald Trump, at the time facing financial ruin, sought control of his elderly father's estate, leading to a family fight which
The Washington Post described as "epic". Shortly after Fred Sr.'s death, Fred III's wife gave birth to a son named William, who was diagnosed with
epileptic spasms, a rare and debilitating medical condition requiring a lifetime of care. In response, Donald, Maryanne and Robert cut Mary and Fred III's medical insurance off, including coverage for William. Mary Trump's lawyers responded that diligence would not have uncovered the fraud" more than a decade earlier. In a January 2022 hearing, lawyers for Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry, and the estate of Robert Trump asked for Mary Trump's lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing that she had waited too long to file her lawsuit because she had had access to the relevant documents since 2001 and that a
statute of limitations imposed by the 2001 settlement had expired. The lawsuit was dismissed in November 2022 on the basis that Trump's 2001 settlement agreement had "unambiguously released defendants from unknown claims, including fraud claims". She made an appeal request, which was denied on June 22, 2023. In September 2021, Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against his niece and
The New York Times (namely the authors of the 2018 exposé) for over $100 million. The suit accuses Mary Trump and the three
New York Times journalists of utilizing confidential documents in an "insidious" conspiracy against Donald. Mary called the suit an act of "desperation". In a January 2023 hearing, a lawyer for the
Times argued that the truthfulness of the exposé outweighed other considerations. Donald's lawyer
Alina Habba singled out Mary's use of a
burner phone to communicate with the
Times, the counsel for which argued was merely to
protect its source. A June 2023 ruling allowed Donald to pursue his claim against Mary, which she appealed. The appeals court ruled in May to let the case proceed, stating that there was "a substantial basis in law" for breach of contract but that the duration of the confidentiality agreement needed to be determined and that Donald had to prove whether the disclosure had caused him any damages. In June 2025, a state judge ruled that Donald could pursue his claim while president of the United States. == Career ==