Robbie Robertson's Children Sue Late Rocker's Wife, Accuse Her of Financial Elder Abuse

Robertson and Janet Zuccarini married five months before The Band guitarist died in August 2023

• Robbie Robertson's children are suing his widow Janet Zuccarini, accusing her of “financial elder abuse” and “tortious interference with inheritance"

• The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of California on May 22 by Robertson’s children Delphine, Sebastian and Alexandra, along with trustees of Robertson’s estate and trust, Adriane Hibbert and David Jackel

• The complaint calls for the cancellation of Robertson and Zuccarini’s TIC amendment, signed in March 2023, and compensatory and punitive damages

The children of late rocker Robbie Robertson are suing his widow Janet Zuccarini, alleging that she took advantage of him during his declining health in order to obtain a portion of his estate and trust.

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday, May 23, Robertson’s children Delphine, Sebastian and Alexandra Robertson, along with trustees of Robertson’s estate and trust — Adriane Hibbert and David Jackel — accuse Zuccarini of “financial elder abuse” and “tortious interference with inheritance."

In the lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles on May 22, the plaintiffs allege that Zuccarini convinced Robertson, who died in August 2023, to sell his former home so that they could buy a property together in 2021. She presented him with documents that they would both be “equal owners and equal contributors to expenses” in the $6 million home, per the complaint. During this time, Robertson’s “mental and physical health” began to “decline,” according to his children.

In 2022, Robertson's cancer “came back with a vengeance, full metastasized” and he became unable to “work, or even read,” according to his family, per the complaint. They claim this is when Zuccarini decided it was a “great time for marriage” and convinced The Band guitarist to elope in a private wedding on March 11, 2023 that was “kept secret” from his family members.

Related: Robbie Robertson, The Band's Songwriter and Primary Guitarist, Dead at 80

The complaint alleges that Zuccarini also had Robertson sign a prenup with the knowledge that he “was no longer able to read and would not comprehend the true import of what he was signing." The plaintiffs claim that Zuccarini not only seized an “opportunity to embark on a marriage with a sick and dying man” but also took advantage of him monetarily during this time, “causing him to spend $175,957 on renovations and $338.131 on furniture and furnishings” for their new home in Beverly Hills.

When the rocker died five months after the wedding, the family claim she “lawyered up” and told the family that Robertson’s estate and trust were “liable to her for one-half of all her living expenses at the Property for so long as she wanted to live there," per the complaint.

“Given her actuarial life expectancy, measured in decades, Robertson’s modest estate and trust would be drained dry unless Zuccarini decided to give up this sinecure and find a new place to live that she could pay for on her own,” the complaint states.

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Related: Robbie Robertson Chronicles the End of the Band in Bittersweet New Song 'Once Were Brothers'

Robertson’s children and trustees say they reached out to Zuccarini to inform her that the musician had “repeatedly said that his estate would be theirs” and would “never have agreed to this had he understood it and had he been of sound mind," per the complaint.

However, her lawyers allegedly told them that the documents were written in a way to ensure that if she didn’t get her “windfall of the estate” she would “revert” to their earlier agreement “requiring ‘Even-Steven’ payments.” She would also be “an omitted spouse entitled to a one-third share of Robertson’s entire estate.”

Robertson’s children claim that Zuccarini “knew that she had deceived Robertson,” citing a text conversation between her and the rocker’s daughter Alexandra in which she “expressly admitted in writing that she knew Robertson did not understand what he was signing," per the complaint.

They also cited a separate conversation between Zuccarini and Alexandra and Delphine, in which Zuccarini allegedly claimed, “Had Robbie understood that keeping the house in the estate would mean paying half the living expenses for life, he would never have agreed to it.”

“Zuccarini, using her confidential position, and during a time when she knew that Robertson was physically and mentally compromised, exerted her influence over Robertson to coerce him into executing documents that were oppressive, abusive, and contrary to his expressly stated intentions…,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit calls for the cancellation of Robertson and Zuccarini’s TIC amendment — or property agreement amendment — that he signed off on in March 2023, and compensatory and punitive damages, among other fees.

Attorneys for Zuccarini and Delphine, Sebastian and Alexandra Robertson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

A former rep for Robertson also did not immediately respond to PEOPLE'S request for comment.

A lawyer for Zuccarini told the Los Angeles Times the complaint is “meritless fiction.”

Robertson died on Aug. 9, 2023 at the age of 80 "after a long illness," per a press release shared at the time.

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