Norman Jewison was a Canadian icon. His sons alleged his wife cut off contact, coerced him to change his will

In his four-decade Hollywood career, Oscar-nominated manager Norman Jewison crafted acclaimed dramas similar In the Heat of the Night and A Soldier's Story. Behind the scenes, determination was allegedly play successful the Toronto-born filmmaker's idiosyncratic beingness arsenic good successful his last years.

Lawsuits filed successful California and Ontario by Jewison's sons and precocious obtained by CBC News rise issues that experts accidental are each excessively communal erstwhile household members clash astatine the extremity of a loved one's life. 

In the tribunal filings, Jewison's sons alleged that his 2nd wife, Lynne St. David Jewison, progressively chopped him disconnected from friends and household starting arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2010, adjacent taking implicit his email and phone. 

"It is the culmination of Respondent's progressive isolation and power of Mr. Jewison that, alongside the replacement of his longtime fiscal and ineligible advisers and uncharacteristic changes to his property plan, are telltale signs of elder abuse," said the brace of lawsuits filed successful May 2023 successful Los Angeles Superior Court. 

In January 2024, 3 days aft Jewison died, 1 of his sons besides filed suit successful Ontario to void his father's volition that helium had rewritten 2 months prior. The suit claimed St. David Jewison had utilized "manipulation, coercion oregon outright maltreatment of power" to get the manager to disinherit his children and bequeath millions of dollars to her instead.

None of the allegations successful the California and Ontario cases were ever tested successful court; the claims were yet resolved done aggregate mediations, with antithetic combinations of household members, dispersed retired implicit 16 months. In the Ontario case, which besides progressive erstwhile premier Ernie Eves, a Superior Court justice successful Toronto signed disconnected connected a colony this past January, 1 twelvemonth aft Jewison died astatine property 97.  

'Afraid I whitethorn ne'er … talk with my begetter again'

The sons' California tribunal filings alleged that their begetter "became heavy dependent" connected St. David Jewison aft helium suffered a bid of strokes successful 2010. They joined aboriginal that year. 

The applications stated that Jewison could nary longer thrust and that his woman became the gatekeeper of his communications and schedule, yet besides taking implicit his email and phone.

Kevin and Michael Jewison besides stated that they noticed their begetter making "uncharacteristic changes" to his property planning, including "the abrupt resignations of his lawyers and accountants of much than 40 years," starting successful 2021. 

They alleged that they raised concerns astir this, but that St. David Jewison past "made it adjacent much hard … to interaction their father," earlier sending a last substance connection from her ain cellphone. The May 2022 substance that chopped disconnected interaction with Jewison's children was allegedly signed "Dad."

Both sons stated that, arsenic of May 2023, they hadn't been capable to spot oregon talk with their begetter successful a twelvemonth contempt attempts to bash so. 

"It is inconceivable to maine that helium does not privation to spot and talk to his children and grandchildren," Kevin Jewison, a camera relation and cinematographer, said successful a sworn connection filed successful the case. 

Michael Jewison, a shaper who worked alongside his dada connected a fig of movies, including The Hurricane, stated successful his sworn statement: "Absent judicial intervention, I americium acrophobic that I whitethorn ne'er person the accidental to spot oregon talk with my begetter again."

An email past period from St. David Jewison's lawyer, Ian Hull, noted the allegations against her were unproven and said she believes the claims against her were untrue.

CBC reached retired to Norman Jewison's children and St. David Jewison for their perspectives. None would hold to beryllium interviewed.

The sons ended up withdrawing their applications soon aft filing them, pursuing a petition by St. David Jewison that they each be mediation.

After mediation, they were erstwhile again capable to pass with their father, though it was constricted to little videoconferences with St. David Jewison's lawyer present, according to Michael Jewison's consequent Ontario lawsuit.

In addition, the mediation opened the doorway for an statement with Kevin Jewison and sister Jennifer Jewison Snyder successful regards to their father's estate. According to Michael Jewison's consequent Ontario claim, the 2 siblings got certain properties and workplace equipment, arsenic good arsenic the rights to the 1973 movie mentation of Jesus Christ Superstar, which their begetter directed and produced. 

But Michael Jewison didn't hold to the presumption and wasn't included successful the agreement.

WATCH | Remembering Norman Jewison, 1 of Canada's astir acclaimed directors: 

California instrumentality fto sons writer for access

Lawyer Dani Kaiserman, a Los Angeles-based adept successful elder law, said the kinds of household conflicts alleged successful the Jewison cases "are truthful common."

As a loved 1 ages, there's often tensions successful families, disagreements that travel up betwixt siblings oregon with a caller spouse," she said. 

Jewison's sons were capable to writer successful California due to the fact that their begetter and St. David Jewison lived part-time astatine a formation location successful Malibu, Calif., erstwhile they weren't astatine properties successful Ontario.  

The brothers resorted to a California instrumentality that came into unit successful 2023 — it has nary equivalent successful Canada — and allows a idiosyncratic to use for a tribunal bid allowing interaction erstwhile there's grounds that an aged oregon babelike big has been chopped disconnected from that idiosyncratic against their wishes, and that it was not done to support them from maltreatment by that person.

"This gets you successful beforehand of a justice wherever you tin inquire for a tribunal bid to sojourn and spot your loved 1 and halt the isolation comparatively quickly," said Kaiserman, who worked to get the statute passed. 

So the 2 men sought a tribunal bid allowing interaction against St. David Jewison that would fto them talk to their dada privately.

Kaiserman said her enactment unsocial has handled 15 to 20 cases nether the California elder-access instrumentality successful the past 2 years. 

In Canada, determination are different ways radical tin regain access, specified arsenic applying to go a guardian oregon involving a provincial cause known arsenic the nationalist guardian and trustee. 

But these efforts instrumentality much clip and tin outgo much money, said lawyer Laura Tamblyn Watts who is besides the CEO of CanAge, a Canadian enactment that advocates for seniors.

"In Canada, it's precise hard. You're astir apt going to telephone the nationalist guardian and trustee. If you person funds, you're going to telephone an property litigation lawyer and effort to get successful there. You whitethorn beryllium capable to telephone immoderate community-based organizations," Tamblyn Watts said.

Wills changed betwixt 2014 and 2023 

The household strife did not extremity aft Jewison died connected Jan. 20, 2024, astatine property 97. 

Following a storied vocation directing Hollywood classics specified arsenic Moonstruck, Fiddler connected the Roof and The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, Jewison near an estimated $30 cardinal aft property taxes, including the Malibu home, a cottage connected Lake Simcoe successful Ontario, a ranch northwest of Toronto and royalties from his films, according to tribunal records.

A volition helium signed successful 2014 would person fixed St. David Jewison the Malibu formation location and immoderate different funds (and mentioned "gifts of wealth and property" antecedently fixed to her), but the bulk of his luck was to beryllium divided among Jewison's 3 children. 

Then successful November 2023, a small implicit 2 months earlier helium died, Jewison signed a caller will. It saw each 3 of his children written out, with the leftover amounts aft assorted bequests — an estimated $27 cardinal — to beryllium divided betwixt St. David Jewison and a reasonably caller foundation wherever she was a director, the Norman and Lynne St. David Jewison Foundation. 

Another large alteration was that Jewison's 2014 volition named his longtime accountant, his lawyer and a person arsenic executors. The 2023 volition appointed conscionable 1 idiosyncratic to the position: erstwhile Ontario premier Ernie Eves. Eves had besides go a firm manager of a fig of Jewison's companies starting successful 2022.    

Eves lives up the roadworthy from the Jewison ranch successful Caledon, Ont., moved successful the aforesaid societal circles, and is besides listed arsenic a manager of the charitable instauration named successful Jewison's 2023 will. 

Three days aft his begetter died, Michael Jewison filed his Ontario suit to void the 2023 will. 

Lawsuit claimed children not fixed accidental to accidental goodbye

In his 2024 claim, Michael Jewison alleged that St. David Jewison had exerted "control and dominance" implicit his dada to get her hands connected his wealth. 

"She successfully prevented Norman's assets and his wealthiness from being inherited by Norman's children, and alternatively inherited tens of millions of dollars for herself," the assertion said.

Michael Jewison besides claimed that the 2023 changes to his father's volition were the merchandise of "undue influence" connected his dada by St. David Jewison, aided by Eves, and that his begetter couldn't person had the indispensable intelligence capableness to rewrite his volition truthful adjacent to his demise.

Neither Eves nor St. David Jewison replied to questions from CBC News astir wherefore Jewison made each the changes helium did, and wherefore Eves specifically was chosen arsenic executor. 

Tamblyn Watts, from the seniors advocacy organization, said portion these types of concerns with wills are not uncommon, getting a volition voided oregon varied by a tribunal is not an casual task.

Speaking mostly and not astir the Jewison case, Watts said that a justice would look astatine specified factors as, "Did you truly cognize what you were doing erstwhile you changed it? Did you truly recognize the implications to the different household [members] oregon the radical that you're cutting out?"

But ultimately, she says, the tribunal requires a "very precocious standard" of impervious to alteration someone's volition and astir radical don't prosecute it.

Michael Jewison's assertion went connected to accidental that helium and his siblings weren't adjacent informed erstwhile their dada was entering his last weeks of beingness and started to person hospice care. "Neither Michael nor his household were fixed an accidental to accidental goodbye to Norman," it stated. 

Responding to questions sent to Eves, his lawyer Chris Paliare wrote to CBC News that Eves "cannot comment." His email continued: "The allegations … regarding Mr. Jewison's last years, and the actions of Mr. Eves and Ms. St. David Jewison, are unproven, and successful Mr. Eves's opinion, untrue."

Hull, St. David Jewison's lawyer, said she "adopts and confirms" those statements from Eves's lawyer.

Michael Jewison's suit was settled successful January. A justice approved a woody betwixt him and his daughter, connected 1 side, and St. David Jewison, the Norman Jewison property and Eves arsenic executor, connected the other. Michael Jewison is to get $6.8 million, the rights to and residuals from 23 of his father's movies and the forgiving of loans that astatine 1 clip totalled much than $3 million. 

Since his decease past year, Norman Jewison has been celebrated astir the world.