Kellie Pickler Reportedly Not Backing Down From Messy Legal War With Late Husband's Parents

Kellie Pickler is said to be hell-bent on getting justice in the legal tussle against her in-laws.

The country music star finds her in-law's attitude amid her grief exploitative and insensitive, which has now energized her to see things through to the end.

Kellie Pickler's husband, Kyle Jacobs, passed away via suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February 2023. They were married for 12 years.

The singer reportedly holds the firm belief that families should never "exploit and prey on a grieving widow, which is what she thinks Reed and Sharon Jacobs are doing to her."

She is now determined to find justice, even if it means going through the motions of heartbreaks and months of harrowing headaches.

On Wednesday, December 11, the singer petitioned a court to mediate the crisis between her and her in-laws, as she insisted that she would not be pushed and passed around. An insider in the case noted:

"There's no denying Kellie's going through a hard time. She really believes this is important and that she needs to take a stand against the wrong that has been done against her." 

In a report by In Touch, the source continued that the American artist is staying true to her words from August 2023, which was about her husband's lesson on how to remain "still" in moments of crisis.

"So, she's going to stick with it, no matter how heavy the cost, because she believes she's in the right. It's not something she wanted to do but she's not the kind of person to sit back and let people walk all over her. She's doing this for Kyle as much as for herself," the source concluded.

Following her decision not to oversee her husband's estate, Kyle's parents, Reed and Sharon Jacobs, stepped in as co-administrators, which spelled the beginning of their troubles with Kellie.

The "American Idol" alum accused Reed and Sharon of entering her home and obtaining "items of personal property after [Kyle's] death."

She added that they "have demanded – via a subpoena issued in the probate estate directed to [Kellie] – that [Kellie] deliver to the possession of their legal counsel" in the lawsuit.

Some of the items on the list in the parents' subpoena include personal items of Kyle's – his gun collection, swords, Rolex watch, guitars, baseball cards, school awards, and a piano, among other personal effects. 

Kyle's parents reportedly based their demands on a prenup signed by Kellie and their son, a successful songwriter. However, the country star's attorney noted that she either does not have possession of, knows the location, or wants to give up certain items and will dispute the subpoena.

The Blast shared that Kyle's family countered the songwriter's declaration and accused her of withholding property belonging to the estate.

Reed and Sharon noted that their daughter-in-law was "presently in violation of a subpoena … issued to her for the return of the estate's property" in the probe case.

They also disclaimed Kellie's narrative that she was either unaware of the location of the items or disputed Reed and Sharon's right to the property.

"[Kellie] and her counsel have provided conflicting information regarding the location and rightful possession of the items listed and, as set forth hereinabove, have admitted [Kellie] is in possession of several items of property of [Kyle]," the couple's attorney argued.

The star's parents also clarified how they entered Kyle's house. According to them, they visited Kellie's home just once "at the express invitation of [Kellie] and her counsel, whom they met to discuss the transfer of items belonging to the estate."

Reed and Sharon noted that, as their daughter-in-law had requested, they took personal items kept in the building's garage. They argued that providing a list of the items they took was unnecessary.

Before his tragic death, Kyle has written songs for notable voices in music, including Garth Brooks, Trace Adkins, Jo Dee Messina, Tim McGraw, Clay Walker, and Kelly Clarkson, among others.

Last month, court documents in the ongoing legal tussle revealed that Kyle's parents, Reed and Sharon, informed Kellie of their plans to depose her in court.

Upon receiving the invitation, Kellie reportedly informed the court days before the scheduled deposition that her in-laws needed to agree with the terms of a proactive order.

The songwriter claimed that the proactive order would protect any video recording from the deposition from getting into the possession of a third party. Kellie explained that she feared the transcript's release to people not connected to the ongoing case would affect her image and brand.

Following her reservations, the court ordered Kellie's deposition to proceed as planned. A judge also granted an interim protective order preventing each side from sharing the transcript of the video of Kellie's deposition "pending further orders of the court."

How long will this bitter battle between Kellie Pickler and her late husband's parent last?