SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has sided with the family of missing West Valley City mom Susan Cox Powell in a multi-million dollar insurance fight.
In a ruling handed down Wednesday afternoon, 3rd District Court Judge LA Dever ruled in favor of Susan’s father, Chuck Cox, in decisions he made controlling her estate. It was being challenged by the family of Josh Powell.
Read the judge’s ruling here:
The estate battle centers around $2 million in insurance money. After Susan’s disappearance and Josh Powell’s death, Chuck Cox took control of a trust and effectively cut out the Powell family.
At a court hearing in July, the judge raised questions about whether Susan Cox Powell was still alive. Legally speaking, the lawyers said there was no evidence to the contrary.
Judge Dever noted that the Powell’s didn’t challenge many decisions until too late.
“Finally, the Powells did concede in the hearing before this court that if Cox was acting as a Grantor he could amend the Trust with the same authority Susan would have under the terms of the Trust,” the judge wrote.
Susan Cox Powell vanished from her West Valley City home in December 2009. She has never been found, and her husband, Josh Powell, was considered a suspect in her disappearance. He killed himself and the couple’s children in an explosion in Washington state in 2012.
