MIAMI – The mother and girlfriend of late Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez have been granted control of his estate by a Miami-Dade County judge.
At a hearing Wednesday morning, Judge Maria Korvick approved the split between Fernandez's mother, Martiza Gomez Fernandez, and his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his daughter.
Fernandez's daughter, Penelope, who was born last month, is expected to be named the sole beneficiary of the estate.
The judge ordered that the money be placed in a secure account. Gomez Fernandez and Maria Arias will have to get a court order each time money is taken out of the account.
"The fact that Jose would have been making $300 million over a 10-year contract that was imminent -- that's correct," Fernandez's family attorney, Ralf Fernandez, said. "But that's not what he had. You know, that's not what Maria's baby will have, that's not what her (Gomez Fernandez's) granddaughter will have, that's not where they were. What they do have is the rich memories, you know, of an individual who changed the city and this state."
Fernandez's estate is believed to be worth between $2 million and $3 million.
Fernandez, who was killed in a boat accident in September along with two others, left no will. An autopsy found cocaine in Fernandez's body at the time of the crash.
The families of Jesus Macias and Eduardo Rivero, the two others killed in the accident, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Fernandez's estate in February.
