Teddy Pendergrass' daughters appeal ruling on will

More than five years have passed since Teddy Pendergrass' death. But his children and wife are still fighting over control of his legacy.

The long-standing acrimony and legal battle over the singer's estate took another turn this week as his two daughters stepped in to challenge a will submitted by Pendergrass' second wife.

Though Pendergrass left little money when he died, future returns are at stake.

Since winning a court ruling in October, his widow, Joan, has started making plans for a movie, a musical theater performance, and a museum exhibit about her late husband.

The October ruling from a Montgomery County judge found that Teddy Pendergrass' son, Theodore "Ted" II, had submitted a fraudulent will to gain control of his father's estate. That left only a will submitted by Joan Pendergrass, in which almost nothing was left to the singer's children.

Theodore Pendergrass' sisters, who sat on the sidelines as the battle between their brother and Joan Pendergrass played out over the last four years, filed their appeal in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday.

"I don't want to comment on the things he did," LaDonna Hollerway said of the will her brother submitted. "All we want is what's right."

Hollerway said she and her sister, Tishia Burnett, do not believe that their father would have left control of his estate to Joan Pendergrass and fear that she only wants to profit from his legacy.

Joan Pendergrass is moving forward with plans for a movie and other products and is only concerned with preserving her husband's legacy, said Helen McCrary, her attorney. McCrary said the appeal could not change Joan Pendergrass' status as administrator of the estate.

"We're not concerned with it except for the fact that they just can't seem to rest without bothering Joan," McCrary said.