Penny Marshall's Former Assistant Comes After Her Estate for Millions

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Penny Marshall's former assistant claims she worked him to the bone and made a lot of promises that went unfulfilled, so now he's coming after her estate and believes he is owed over $8 million.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Terry Trahan claims he was Marshall's assistant from January 17, 1994 until Marshall's death on December 17, 2018. He says his job duties included acting as Marshall's personal assistant, home caretaker, physical caretaker, cook, and housekeeper.

He says that during his time working for Marshall, he lived in her guest house and "virtually the entire time of his employment with Marshall, Marshall required Trahan to always be available to be called upon by Marshall for whatever she needed."

Trahan claims Marshall required him to be available 24/7.

"Moreover, during this time period," Trahan claims, "Marshall did not allow Trahan any days off, vacation time, or uninterrupted rest or meal breaks. In fact, on a nightly basis, Marshall would require Trahan's services in the middle of the night, usually several times during the night, to assist her with a variety of tasks, including, but not limited to, bathing her, cleaning her, preparing a meal for her, and doing whatever she wanted at all times of the day, and all hours of every night."

He claims that Marshall was "abrasive, caustic, and abusive" and she often treated him "in a humiliating fashion in private, and in front of third parties."

Trahan claims he discussed his work conditions and the effect it had on him but Marshall "demanded that Trahan not ever leave her employ, said she would retaliate against him if he did, told him how much she loved him, told him how much she needed him, and told him how she could not live without Trahan and the services he was providing her."

He claims Marshall promised that "when she passed away that she was financially

providing for him in a sum so that he 'would never have to work again,' and that he would also be left 'enough money to purchase a home.'"

According to Trahan, Marshall planned to name him as a beneficiary in connection with her Director's Guild of America pension/retirement fund and often asked her neighbors if they would sell their home "because she wanted to buy it and told Trahan he ultimately would receive this as his home after her passing."

After Marshall passed away, Trahan claims he learned that Marshall did indeed name him as a beneficiary of her Director's Guild pension/retirement fund but "it had been depleted down to nothing at the time of her death."

Not only that, he claims "she did not leave him funds that would remotely allow him to retire and/or funds to purchase a home of the type promised."

Trahan claims the home Marshall wanted to buy for him was worth $3.2 million and if Marshall intended to take care of him for the rest of his life, he should be paid his salary for the next 23 years ... which would be another $2.3 million.

In addition, Trahan claims he was not paid overtime, rest or meal breaks and believes he is owed $2.6 million for that as well.

Trahan filed two creditor's claims against Marshall's estate totaling $8.1 million.

Marshall passed away in December 2018 from heart failure as a result of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Marshall was cremated the day after Christmas, and her remains were given to her sister, Ronnie, presumably to be interred with her brother, who died in 2016.