Dale Earnhardt, Jr owns no part of DEI, documents reveal
Quote selected text Published May 24th, 2007 in NASCAR News
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. demanded 51 percent ownership of Dale Earnhardt Inc., it might have seemed logical that the son of the team founder would already own part of the company.
So why doesn’t he? Because the will of his father, the seven-time Cup champion killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, didn’t give him an ownership stake in the team.
Earnhardt’s will, signed in December 1992, awards 100 percent of DEI to his widow, Teresa, Dale Jr.’s stepmother.
The estate filings, which were probated in Iredell County, N.C., show that Teresa Earnhardt owns the race team.
According to the estate inventory, Earnhardt Sr. owned 100 percent of the stock in DEI, which was formed in 1980, two years before his marriage to Teresa.
Earnhardt Sr. gives Teresa the power “to retain and carry on any business or property in which I may own an interest at the time of my death.” Part of the assignment of assets approved by the court about 13 months after his death includes a provision that Teresa gets “all of the stock owned by decedent in Dale Earnhardt Inc.”
Typically, owners of companies leave their entire company to their spouse to avoid paying significant estate taxes they would incur if part of the company was given to the children.
There is a trust, which was likely set up to pay bills while the will was being probated. There could also be a trust set up for Earnhardt’s children, but that is not clear in the court documents.
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I’m not surprised… I was never under the impression he owned any piece of the company. Which is pretty tragic considering it has been 7 years since Senior’s death. I really don’t think it slipped her mind to give some family members a piece of the company (even a small piece), which would be the logical and humane thing to do. I call that greed. There are other drivers in NASCAR who own a piece of the company they race for and they aren’t related to the owner their team at all nor was their father the founder of the company… There’s no one on this Earth with any level of intelligence who can say that is not wrong on Theresa’s part.
(Insert expletives directed at Theresa).
That’s not even fair. In 1982 Jr would of been 16 years old. Kerry
wouldn’t of been much older, I’m not sure if Kelly is older or younger
[[I'm thinking older, but not sure]], and Taylor would of been under
10. Of course he wasn’t going to leave them anything at that time.
But Axel nailed it on the head. Theresa is a horrible moneygrubbing
sleaze, and that’s keeping it nice because I like keeping on the good
side of the site’s editor. Like I can understand if she wanted to
keep part ownership rather than completely sign it over because she
DOES have to make a living and she was Dale’s wife, but any decent
person would of handed the majority over to the kids. Dale’s quoted
as saying that’s the way he wanted it. She basically slapped her
deceased husband, also the greatest Nascar drive to have ever lived,
and all her stepchildren, square across the cheek. I hope she lives
out the rest of her life after DEI falls apart within the next five
years [[and that's giving her leeway]] selling hot dogs at the tracks.
Pardon me, in 1992 he would of been 18. Born in 1974. Again, my bad.
But all the same, Dale Sr wouldn’t give someone that young partial
control of his enterprise.
Obviously…that’s the reason why he didn’t resign with them!
that was then, jr, i think was a lot different back then, he was
still just a kid learning the ropes of the sport. and sr. new what
it took to drive and manage a team. i think that if sr was still
alive and had to rewrite his will today things would very different.
I agree with all comments posted so far…I also believe that Sr. probably assumed that, if he passed away first, Teresa would share his company with his children–ALL of them. I’m sure he is beyond disappointed in what his wife has done, and continues to do, to the children that he didn’t have with her. I know that Jr., Kelly, Kerry, and hopefully, Taylor will come out of this on top.
Nobody ever SAID that Jr owned any part of the company,
everyone just assumed. We all know what happens when
one ASS-U-ME s!!
In my opinion, Dale Sr followed attorney’s advice in making
Theresa the sole stock owner of DEI to prohibit inheritance
taxes…
“Typically, owners of companies
leave their entire company to their spouse
to avoid paying significant estate taxes
they would incur if part of the company
was given to the children.”
yes junior was alot different back then but i think most of the reason why he is who is today is because dale sr. passed… he was forced to grow up and start making decisions for himself. i really believe that dale sr. would be furious at theresa for not giving dale jr 51% (or any share) of DEI and letting him walk away.. thats what the company was built for.. his children. i dont believe that 51% was too much to give dale jr considering everything he’s given DEI throughout his career. and besides it wasn’t like he was being greedy.. junior really felt that for DEI to be more successful he needed to take over the controls. its disappointing that they couldn’t work things out and come to an agreement on a contract but i think dale jr will have a very successful career where ever he ends up.. but i wish i could say the same for DEI…..
Maybe Dale Sr.didn’t want to leave such a big responseability to his children as the owner’s of Dei at the time he wrote his will out,No one know’s when there time’s up. I’m sure he wasn’t going to leave it to theresa alone.He probably at the time he did his will he was going to go back and change it.Hey for all we know he could have another will somewhere else.I hope theresa open’s that little brain of her’s and realize’s what she has done ,because like they say what goes around come’s back around!!!!!!!
Teresa will just run it into the ground
Dale, Sr had about eight years to update his will. This should serve as a reminder for all parents to keep their will up-to-date. If he really wanted to give ownership of DEI to his kids, then it could have had stipulations in the will like an age clause or something along those lines. My bet is that either the layers convinced him at a time when he was focused elsewhere (like trying to win a championship), or Teresa probably manipulated him into leaving 100% of DEI to her. She could have threatened to leave had he not. Who knows, but morally she should stop playing the role of evil stepmother and do the right thing. I’m interested to see what she has in her will.
Make that “lawyers” and not “layers” for you grammar nazis.
Well, well, well! I guess Jr. did the only thing that was right. Without any ownership at all I would run too. Teresa is an ass!
With Theresa at the helm DEI will fold in a short time anyhow since her cash cow is gone. I mean how lone will the US Army stick around a sub par team when there are so much better teams to spend your money on.