Hayden Panettiere‘s ex-fiancée Wladimir Klitschko, has been granted authority to protect the late actor’s estate on behalf of their 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, after the sudden death of the Nashville star left the child as her sole beneficiary.
Klitschko, 50, filed an urgent petition late last month to protect their daughter’s inheritance, claiming items belonging to Panettiere had been seized in a federal investigation and that valuables were missing after an unnamed and unauthorized individual accessed her residence in Los Angeles.
Klitschko, a former world champion heavyweight boxer and Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine, has had full custody of their 11-year-old daughter Kaya since 2018, and she has lived with him in his home country for most of her life.
He and his daughter appeared in a California court via video call on Thursday. Only Kaya was visible on camera.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
Judge Stephanie Santoro granted Klitschko the status of temporary guardian of Kaya’s estate until a long-term administrator can be appointed.
Diane Park, a lawyer for Klitschko, argued the matter was urgent because a person she described as a non-relative was believed to have taken some of Panettiere’s jewelry in an attempt to sell it to a pawnshop, and said assets were in danger of being lost during the death investigation, the Associated Press reported.
Court documents said authority was needed to deal with both the pawnshop owner and police agencies. The lawyer said Panettiere’s taxes were due to be filed this month.
Park told Santoro that the property, the pawnshop and the nonfamily member were in Los Angeles County, where the judge’s ruling held authority.
Klitschko’s filing also stated that before the Nashville star’s death, the former couple had hired security at her Los Angeles home because an unnamed person had accessed the property without authorization.
Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, filed a document saying she consented to Klitschko being appointed.
Panettiere —who died at the age of 36 from the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs on Aug. 16 at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina— began acting at the age of four, appearing in soap operas and TV commercials.
Her role as a cheerleader with superpowers in Heroes propelled her to fame in 2006, with the series revolving around the mantra “save the cheerleader, save the world.”
She went on to win three Teen Choice Awards for that role and was a Grammy Award nominee for a children’s spoken word album recorded a few years after the release of the animated movie A Bug’s Life. She later received two supporting actress nominations at the Golden Globes for her role as Juliette Barnes in Nashville.
Panettiere agreed to give Klitschko full custody of their daughter amid mental health and drug struggles.
“I grieve that I’m not the mother I thought I’d be, and definitely not the mother I want to be. Trust me, no one should ever have to raise a child on FaceTime.”
Panettiere remained involved in her daughter’s life.
— with files from the Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.