O.J. Simpson's Passing Puts the Spotlight on His Estate & the Money Owed to the Goldman Family

O.J. Simpson’s death on April 10 after a battle with cancer draws a myriad of emotions for anyone who lived through the era of his criminal and civil trials after the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1994. The Goldman family, which included his father, Fred, and sister, Kim, filed a civil case against the former NFL star in 1997 and won.

O.J. was held responsible for both Nicole and Ronald’s death, and a jury awarded the aspiring actor’s estate $33.5 million. O.J. spent years trying to avoid the judgment and in 2022, TMZ Sports learned that the total amount had escalated to $96 million, and it is likely to be higher in 2024 due to the interest rate on a court judgment. The other issue that the Goldman family faced was how little the disgraced star gave them over the years. He had only paid the Ronald Goldman estate $123,000 as of February 2021.

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Fred filed court documents in Nevada after he believed O.J. was making money from autograph signings and wasn’t honest about revealing his income to the courts. The family has been relentless in chasing what is owed to them — it will never replace their son’s life, but they wanted the former athlete to feel some of their pain, at least financially. It now looks like the Goldmans are not going to stop after his passing either.

The Goldmans’ attorney, David Cook, had some understandably harsh words about the deceased, telling TMZ on Thursday, April 11, “O.J. died without penance.” His estate is also not exempt from the civil case judgment and Cook made a note of that to the outlet. The Goldman family will continue to pursue his remaining assets, so they can collect on the money owed to them. It’s going to be a tough legal battle for the Simpson family to fight, but it’s something the Goldman family has been doing for decades.

It feels like the judicial system hurt the Goldman family several times over — the first time with the disappointing criminal case outcome, and the lack of accountability with the civil case. O.J.’s estate may be the last shot the Goldmans have to see justice served for the tragic loss of their beloved family member.

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