Nineteen relatives came forward. All of them were distant.
Their claim: Huguette had not been of sound mind.
Their evidence: the dolls. The cartoons. Her reclusive life. The lavish gifts.
They accused her nurse, her lawyer and her accountant of taking advantage of a lonely old woman.
But the accountant testified that Huguette had told him she wanted none of her fortune to go to her family.
Her lawyer described her as a strong-willed woman who did what she wanted.
Prosecutors investigated. No one was ever charged.
September 2013. Just before a jury trial, the two sides settled.
The relatives: $34.5 million.
Peri: nothing from the will, and $5 million of her gifts paid back.
Most of the rest: to the arts.
The money was settled.
But one question remained that no one could answer.