The husband of the bride who was killed by an alleged drunk driver on their wedding night is now locked in a legal battle with her mother over her estate.
Samantha Miller, 34, was tragically killed just hours after marrying Aric Hutchinson when the golf cart they were leaving their wedding reception on was hit by a car driven by Jamie Lee Komoroski, who was charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of felony driving under the influence.
Aric was also hospitalized after the horrific incident, having suffered several injuries including a broken leg, but survived.
Since Samantha's death, Aric had assumed control of her estate, however, her mother Lisa Miller has since filed a petition to remove him as the personal representative, citing "issues of potential fraud", and even suggested that his marriage to her daughter could be invalid, according to reports from the Post and Courier.
Lisa's attorney has also filed, withdrawn, and refiled a motion to intervene in a wrongful death lawsuit Aric had filed against local bars that had served Komoroski on the night of the incident, which is expected to result in a large settlement.
The mother claims Samantha would have wanted her to receive her share of the inheritance and wanted her and her new husband to work together, but says Aric's legal team are sidelining her.
She told the Post and Courier: "Aric and I agreed several times that Sam would want us to do everything together given we’re the two most important people in her life.
"I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonor Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonoring my daughter in going against her wishes."
According to South Carolina law, when a married person dies without a will, their spouse is entitled to their money and property and has priority in serving as personal representative of their estate.
Patrick Wooten, one of the groom's attorneys, told the outlet: "Aric has been more than generous with Lisa Miller - offering her half of the money - and she has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam."
He added: "One would hope that Ms. Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that."
However, one of the issues Lisa contests is that she turned down the offer because it came with a provision that prevented her from speaking about the settlement.
Her attorney, Jerry Meehan, stated that his client’s "main reason to intervene is to protect the Estate of Samantha Miller and all of its rightful heirs.
"There is no reason to rush the process and cloak [it] in secrecy. This was a money grab from minute one," he claimed.
Aric's attorney added: "Aric has made this settlement offer not because Lisa Miller had a valid legal claim - she does not - but rather because he is a generous person and, of course, would prefer to avoid painful, public litigation over the validity of his marriage to Sam."
The couple married in Folly Beach on April 28 and the validity of their marriage was recognized by a Charleston County probate judge on May 1 while Aric was in hospital recovering from his injuries.
His aunt and uncle had brought the signed marriage license and certificate to the Charleston County Probate Court Marriage License Division and the clerk provided them with further forms to fill out.
Lisa's attorneys are challenging one such form in which the groom's aunt had stated she'd known the couple for 36 years, even though Samantha was only 34 when she died.
She had also written that the couple had been living together after the wedding, despite Aric being in hospital and Samantha having died on the day of their ceremony.
While Aric's lawyers admit those claims could not have been true, they say they are irrelevant in determining the validity of the marriage and have called them a "total distraction".
Komoroski, the driver of the car that collided with the golf buggy the newlyweds had been traveling on, is currently still being held in jail since the incident in April.
The 26-year-old was charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of felony driving under the influence, but could be released from jail on bond in March if prosecutors haven't brought her to trial by then, according to the outlet.
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