MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The heiress to the Golden Flake potato chip empire is for now back in control of her fortune after a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court.
The court voided a 2019 probate order granting an emergency conservator that came after two employees claimed that 88-year-old Joann Bashinsky has dementia and is mentally unfit to handle her vast estate.
Joann Bashinsky is the widow of Sloan Y. Bashinsky, Sr. who owned the majority stock in Golden Enterprises, Inc. Justices said Bashinsky’s basic due-process rights, were egregiously violated when the probate court made the emergency decision without giving her time to obtain counsel.
The permanent petition remains pending in court.