Conor Kennedy's lawyer said Wednesday in Surrogate's Court in White Plains, N.Y. that his client turned 18 on Tuesday, qualifying him to administer the estate of Mary Kennedy, who hanged herself in May.
A lawyer for Robert Kennedy raised no objection. The judge said he expects to grant Conor Kennedy's application.
Mary Kennedy's sister, Martha Richardson, also was in court but did not go before the judge. She said she hadn't decided whether she objects to Conor Kennedy's application.
Meanwhile, Mary Kennedy's divorce lawyers dropped their application that a public administrator be appointed. They had objected to the possibility of Robert Kennedy being named administrator.
The 52-year-old mother of four hanged herself on May 16 in a barn by the couple's home in New York's Westchester County amid bitter divorce proceedings in which Robert Kennedy won temporary custody of their four children, ages 11 to 18.
She was first buried on May 19 near her husband's aunt and uncle, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver. Seven weeks later, Mary Kennedy was reburied in a Cape Cod, Mass., cemetery 700 feet from her original grave near other Kennedy family members.
Since Robert Kennedy filed for divorce two years ago, Mary Kennedy's battle against drug and alcohol addiction included an arrest for driving while intoxicated. An autopsy report showed she had antidepressants in her system when she died.
In a court affidavit linked to their divorce, Robert Kennedy claimed his wife beat him, threatened suicide in front of her children, ran over the family dog and drank until she passed out.
The Richardson family said his account was filled with lies.
They lost a court fight to bury her at a location of their choosing.
Mary Kennedy's relatives did not attend the funeral Robert Kennedy organized in Bedford, N.Y., the Westchester County town where they lived. After her burial, the Richardsons organized a private tribute to her in Manhattan.
