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Murdochs sweat on court ruling in family trust case

Rupert Murdoch and his wife Elena Zhukova Murdoch were in court in Reno for at least part of the case.

Rupert Murdoch and his wife Elena Zhukova Murdoch were in court in Reno for at least part of the case. Photo: AAP

The future of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire rests in the hands of a Nevada bureaucrat, after a major step in the family’s highly secretive court case.

A probate court in Reno is reviewing evidence in the case that has pitted the 93-year-old media magnate and his eldest son against the rest of the family.

At question is control of the vast empire, including News Ltd and Fox News, after Murdoch’s death.

It follows a bid in 2023 by Murdoch to change the terms of his irrevocable family trust to ensure that his eldest son, Lachlan, remains in charge of his cadre of newspapers and television networks, including The Australian, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News Channel, according to reporting by The New York Times based on a sealed court document.

Evidentiary hearings in the case finished on Wednesday (Australian time). They were largely closed to the public and most documents were sealed, with requests for access by news organisations including The Associated Press mostly rejected.

Now Murdoch family members are awaiting a decision by the probate commissioner. But it could be a while coming – and it’s unlikely to be made public.

Once the commissioner’s report and recommendations were handed down, each party would have 10 days to object, Elyse Tyrell, a lawyer in Las Vegas who specialises in trusts and estates, said. Objections – which are expected – have to then be sent to a judge to rule on the case or send it back to  the commissioner to reconsider.

“Unfortunately, there’s no telling how quick that process is,” Tyrell said. “There’s no timeframe for that.”

She said Nevada law also allowed for an eventual ruling by the judge to be appealed directly to the state’s Supreme Court because the trust’s assets – which also include The New York Post and television and print outlets in Australia and Britain – are valued at more than $US5.43 million ($A7.9 million).

The trust was originally set up to give equal control over Rupert Murdoch’s businesses to his four oldest children upon his death, according to the NY Times.

Murdoch – who was in court in Reno for at least part of the case, along with his fifth wife, Elena Zhukova – stepped down as leader of both Fox News’ parent company and his News Corp media holdings last northern autumn. He is arguing that to preserve his businesses’ commercial value for all his heirs, the trust must be changed so Lachlan can ensure his newspapers and TV networks continue to have a conservative editorial outlook, the NYT reported.

Lachlan succeeded his father as chairman of News Corp last November. He is also executive officer at Fox Corp, home to conservative US news network Fox News, the Fox broadcast and sports networks, and local TV stations. The media empire spans continents and helped to shape modern American politics.

Rupert Murdoch’s bid to change the trust has pitted him against his other three children named as beneficiaries: James, Elisabeth and Prudence. They united to stop their father from revising the trust, according to the NYT.

Irrevocable trusts are typically used to limit estate taxes, among other reasons. They cannot be changed without permission from the beneficiaries or via a court order.

Nevada Probate Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman of the Second Judicial District Court in Reno ruled this summer that Rupert Murdoch could amend the trust if he could show that he was acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs, the NYT reported.

The court’s ruling noted that Murdoch sought to give Lachlan permanent and exclusive control over his companies because the mogul was worried that a lack of consensus among his children could affect the strategic direction at his companies, including potentially leading to a change in editorial policy and content, according to the NYT.

-with AAP

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