Mickey Rooney Cut Wife And Children From Will

Mickey Rooney has left his modest estate to a stepson who had been caring for him, cutting the rest of his family from his will.

Documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court showed that the actor, who died of natural causes on Sunday aged 93, signed his final will and trust on March 11.

The filing states his estate is currently worth an estimated $18,000 (£10,700).

The actor, whose career spanned 80 years, had lost much of his fortune in recent years and continued to appear in movies despite his age.

Rooney named his stepson Mark Rooney and his wife as the sole beneficiaries of his estate.

His will disinherited his eight surviving children, as well as his estranged wife.

Jan Rooney will receive her husband's Social Security benefits and some of his pension earnings as a result of a previous agreement.

In 2011 the Andy Hardy star told a US Senate panel he had been abused by a family member who had taken control of his life.

Rooney allegedly filed a restraining order against another stepson, Christopher Aber, claiming both emotional and financial abuse.

Plans are still being made for Rooney's burial and a possible tribute, his lawyer Michael Augustine said.

An agreement was reached on Tuesday not to move the actor's body from a mortuary until a court hearing Friday that may help determine where he is to be laid to rest.

Mr Augustine said that while Rooney has a burial plot in Westlake Village, northwest of Los Angeles, the actor had said recently he wanted to be buried in Hollywood or a veteran's cemetery.

"We were going to buy plots," Mr Augustine said, but the actor "didn't have any money."

He said the family would like to have a small private service, but hopes that a larger celebration of Rooney's life and career can be arranged with help from film companies.