Simon widow rebuts stepdaughter's lawsuit on will

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A court document filed by the widow of billionaire shopping mall magnate Melvin Simon says she did not coerce her husband to change his will months before his death.

Bren Simon said in the document that Melvin Simon changed his will to prevent his three children from his first marriage from controlling her finances after his death.

The 24-page document filed Wednesday came in response to a lawsuit filed by Melvin Simon's daughter, Deborah Simon. She claimed that Bren Simon persuaded Melvin Simon to change his will to reduce his children's inheritances.

The document said the Simon Property Group Inc. founder and the Indiana Pacers co-owner voluntarily signed his new will in February 2009, seven months before he died of cancer at age 82.

Bren Simon's filing asked the court to list David Simon and Cynthia Simon Skjodt as additional plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Skjodt and Deborah and David Simon are Melvin Simon's children from his first marriage.

Deborah Simon's complaint filed in Hamilton Circuit Court earlier this month alleged Bren Simon took advantage of Melvin Simon's "weakened and susceptible state" to coerce him to change his estate plan.

Bren Simon's response acknowledged that Melvin Simon needed help signing his name to his revised estate plan. It said Melvin Simon needed someone to hold his writing hand because he was suffering from "Parkinsonian symptoms" that had affected his right hand for some time.

Bren Simon called allegations that she coerced her husband to change the estate plan "misleading and inaccurate" and asked the judge to declare the new will valid.

Forbes magazine estimated Simon's fortune last year at $1.3 billion.