Rooney's Widow Demands Slice of Tiny Estate

Mickey Rooney may not have left a celebrity-sized fortune behind, but his estranged widow wants a cut of it anyway. Janice Rooney is challenging the late actor's will, which leaves his entire $18,000 estate to stepson/caretaker Mark Aber, omitting Janice Rooney and other children, CNN reports. Her lawyer will appear in court today to challenge the assertion, made in court documents, that she signed an agreement waiving her right to her husband's estate when the couple separated in 2012.

"There is NO provision in either of the two settlement agreements ... that terminates or in any way affects (her) rights as surviving spouse," Janice Rooney's lawyer said. Court-appointed conservator Michael Augustine has dismissed the claim as "totally without merit," accusing Janice Rooney of pursuing it because "she cannot resist her additional five minutes of fame." Mickey Rooney's eight biological children are also contesting the will, Radar reports. In court documents, they claim Augustine conspired with Aber to manipulate the actor. (More Mickey Rooney stories.)