Whitney Houston's will: Bobbi Kristina is the heiress

Whitney Houston's last will and testament was released Wednesday, revealing that the singer's entire estate will go to daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.

The revelation comes just ahead of Bobbi Kristina's prerecorded sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, which will air this Sunday.

As for the estate, all Houston's money, furniture, clothing, personal effects, jewelry and cars go to her only child. The money is to be put in a trust until the 19-year-old turns 21, with more coming to her at age 25 and the balance at age 30, according to "Inside Edition," which obtained the 19-page document.

The document was drafted in 1993 and a codicil was added in 2000, when Houston was still married. If Houston had had no "children of mine who survive me," her jewelry was to have gone to her mother, Cissy Houston, and the rest of her money and possessions were to have been "divided amicably" among family members, including then-husband Bobby Brown, whom she divorced in 2006.

Bobbi Kristina, who was hospitalized briefly after her mother's death, on Sunday can be seen sharing personal memories of her superstar mom as well as how she would like her mother to be remembered, the "Oprah's Next Chapter" website said.

According to TMZ sources, "Krissy" picked Oprah because she trusted her -- the TV host had been a friend who "never did my mother wrong, or made her look bad." Also on tap to speak with Oprah: Whitney's brother Gary Houston, and her sister-in-law and confidant Patricia Houston.

 

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— Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville
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Photo: Oprah Winfrey in Atlanta with Bobbi Kristina Brown. Credit: Harpo Inc.

 

Bobby Brown leaves church as Whitney Houston's funeral begins

This post has been updated, as indicated below.

Bobby Brown was invited to the funeral of Whitney Houston on Saturday, but he left shortly after the "home going" service began, reportedly over a seating dispute.

Brown's invite was for him plus two guests, but he showed up with an entourage of nine, according to TMZ, which said the singer became upset when the entire party could not be seated. Sources told the website that Brown wanted to sit with his daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.

[Updated at 1:25 p.m. Feb. 18: Brown's rep has released a statement indicating that he and his children were invited, seated by security and then asked to move three times. "I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move," he said in the statement, adding that he was prevented from attempting to see Bobbi Kristina.

"Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi-Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how."]

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Bobbi Kristina, Whitney Houston's only child, was seated in the front row of the New Hope Baptist Church, where speakers and singers repeatedly addressed her and Cissy Houston directly during the nearly four-hour service.

According to CNN, Brown had entered the church, gone up to the casket and was crying over his ex-wife, but left in an SUV about 10 minutes into the service. Sources told CNN he chose to leave when his entourage could not be accommodated inside the church.

Following the service, Jesse Jackson told CNN  that he'd tried to get Brown to stay after the singer and several members of his entourage were asked to leave the front row. "That was a very difficult moment for all of us."

"It seems to me that they could have accommodated him better than they did," Jackson said.

Tweeting from outside the church, the Rev. Al Sharpton said, "I am at Whitney's funeral. I spoke with Bobby Brown trying to calm him down and not distract from the services. Today is about Whitney! I am going back in the services, I did my best out here. Can't tweet from inside the sanctuary, I hope the press will not distort the day."

After the service, Sharpton told CNN that Brown had shown nothing but respect, and asked that the singer be left alone.

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— Christie D'Zurilla
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Photo: Bobby Brown is escorted to a vehicle during the funeral of his ex-wife Whitney Houston in New Jersey on Saturday. Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press

Whitney Houston: Family members attend private viewing service

Whitney Houston's family gathered Friday evening in Newark, N.J., for a private viewing of the body of the singer, who died Saturday at the Beverly Hilton.

Mother Cissy Houston, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and Dionne Warwick were among those spotted arriving at the Whigham Funeral Home, according to TMZ, which also reported music mentor Clive Davis stopping by briefly and then leaving before the 5 p.m. EST viewing service was to begin. The service reportedly ran about two hours.

Back at Los Angeles International Airport earlier in the day, the likes of Kevin Costner, Ray J and Brandy were photographed on their way to flights headed back East. Costner, Houston's costar in "The Bodyguard," is expected to speak at the funeral, which starts at noon EDT Saturday at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church.

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Bobby Brown, Houston's ex-husband and Bobbi Kristina's father, was officially invited to attend, Houston's publicist confirmed to the Associated Press, despite earlier rumors that he was being shunned by the family. Brown has a concert with New Edition scheduled for Saturday night in Connecticut.

Also on tap for the funeral are musical performances from Houston's godmother Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported. Additional invited guests whosed names are popping up in assorted media reports include Elton John, Bill Cosby, David Bowie, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Diddy, Berry Gordy, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington.

Flags on state government buildings in New Jersey will fly at half-staff Saturday in honor of the singer, who was born in Newark and grew up in nearby East Orange.

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— Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville
Christie D'Zurilla on Google+

Photo: Whitney Houston's family members are helped as they arrive at Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, N.J., on Friday for a private viewing service. Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press.

 

 

 

 

Bobbi Kristina offered coping advice by Janet Jackson [Video]

As Bobbi Kristina Brown survives the significant loss of her mother, Whitney Houston, she can count the support of millions of fans worldwide -- and a few showbiz types like Janet Jackson.

No stranger to tragedy herself, Jackson stopped by Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show Tuesday and offered thoughts for the grief-stricken Bobbi Kristina, whose recent ordeal saw her hospitalized, reportedly for stress.

"I didn't want to accept it. It's very difficult. You have to come to terms at some point; you have to give it up to God," Jackson said of losing her brother Michael.

"It sounds so mean but you have to move on. You can't hold on to that because it can be very devastating. And sometimes therapy can be the best thing."

Cooper, who lost a brother to suicide, weighed in on coping with loss over a lifetime. 

"TV people always use that word 'closure' when they're talking about loss. I don't think there is such a thing as closure. I think that's a made-up TV word," he said.

Jackson agreed, adding, "You figure out a way to move on with life but ... there's never a day, not one day has gone by where I don't think about my brother."  

 

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-- Matt Donnelly
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Photo: Whitney Houston, left, and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown at last year's Clive Davis pre-Grammys party in Beverly Hills. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Whitney Houston death: Bobby Brown reportedly heads for L.A.

Bobby Brown reportedly bowed out of a concert in Memphis, Tenn., and was headed to Los Angeles on Sunday to be with his daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown after the death of Whitney Houston, his ex-wife.

"I am deeply saddened at the passing of my ex-wife, Whitney Houston. At this time, we ask for privacy, especially for my daughter, Bobbi Kristina. I appreciate all of the condolences that have been directed towards my family and I at this most difficult time," Brown said Sunday in a statement obtained by E! News.

Brown and his entourage were spotted at the airport in Nashville on Sunday, according to TMZ. Bobbi Kristina, 18, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, reportedly to be treated for stress, but has since been released.

OBITUARY: Troubled pop titan Whitney Houston dead at 48

At his show with New Edition on Saturday night in Southaven, Miss., near Memphis, Brown sent a kiss skyward and said, "I love you Whitney," the UK Sun reported.

In a report from closer to home, the ClarionLedger.com noted that Brown seemed "visibly shaken" and "overcome with emotion" as the concert wound down, leaving the stage after joining the rest of New Edition in a ballad, "Roni," about the "sweetest little girl" who could  "make the toughest homeboy fall deep in love."

Brown and Houston married in 1992, and divorced in 2007. Houston died Saturday afternoon in a hotel bathroom in Beverly Hills; she was 48. An autopsy was completed Sunday, but results were placed under seal, with no official cause of death expected for weeks.

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— Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photo: Donzaleigh Abernathy places a flower at a memorial to Whitney Houston outside the Beverly Hilton on Sunday. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press

 

Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston's daughter, hospitalized

Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was rushed to the hospital Sunday morning, the day after her mother died in a Beverly Hills hotel room.

A reportedly alert Bobbi Kristina, 18, was taken out of the Beverly Hilton on a stretcher and transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center around 10:30 a.m., L.A. Now reports. Though police didn't give details, a US Weekly source said she was being treated for stress.

She'd been in the lobby of the hotel Saturday when word came that her mother had been found unresponsive, a source told People, and was turned away from her mother's hotel room hours later after what TMZ characterized as an angry shouting match with police outside the door. Bobbi Kristina had screamed, cursed and demanded to see her mother, TMZ reported.

"Her life will be shattered," a source told US Weekly on Saturday. "Bobbi was always by [Whitney's] side in everything she did."

Brown and Houston were married in 1992 and divorced in 2007. Bobbi Kristina is their only child, and according to US Weekly senior editor Ian Drew, speaking to ABC News, "basically grew up her mother's caretaker ....In a way she was the adult in relationship."

Bobbi Kristina will turn 19 in March.

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— Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photo: Bobbi Kristina Brown, left, and Whitney Houston in 2009. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press