Two years after the American Pickers star’s death, his father and his closest friends could not settle their fight over his $6 million estate in mediation — so a jury will decide.
By The Insider — CelebnMusic247
$6 million. That is the estimated value of what Frank Fritz left behind — and, as of this week, it is officially headed for a jury.
Page Six can exclusively reveal that a jury trial is set for November in the Iowa court case over the American Pickers alum’s estate, after the parties failed to reach an agreement in mediation. “Mediation happened and there was no resolution,” a source told Page Six of the case, which is sealed from public view. “Bill Fritz wants everything.”
The Two Sides of the Frank Fritz Estate Battle
On one side is Frank’s father, Bill Fritz. On the other are three of Frank’s friends, including Annette Oberlander Willows, who told Page Six she was by Frank’s side when he died in September 2024.
“I have always done right by Frank. I was loyal to him throughout our entire friendship. Frank did not wish for his dad to have anything of his!” Willows told Page Six. She added: “I did not expect to get anything for just being his closest friend. I feel that it is Frank’s things before it is mine. By going to trial, I am confident Frank’s wishes will be honored!”
Bill Fritz and his lawyer did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment, per the outlet.
One Document at the Heart of the Frank Fritz Estate Fight
The timeline matters here, because this fight is really about one document. In October 2023, Frank filed a “will prior to death,” per Page Six — a year after a debilitating stroke in July 2022 left him partially paralyzed. An Iowa judge approved that will weeks after his death in September 2024, but his biological father contested it in February 2025, claiming it is “fake,” per Page Six.
Page Six also reports that the US Sun previously reported, from court papers filed before the case was sealed, that Bill alleged Frank’s “decision-making capacity was so impaired that he was unable to make, communicate or carry out important decisions concerning his own financial affairs.” Bill told that outlet in 2025 that he was looking forward to trial to fight what he called the fake will, that he felt sure he would win, and that he had a good relationship with his son.
The arrangements around Frank in his final years are part of the dispute too. Per Page Six, his loved ones filed for a conservatorship and guardianship in August 2022, with friend Chris Davis as guardian and MidWestOne Bank as conservator — and Bill was not involved.
What Is at Stake in the Frank Fritz Estate
So what is at stake? Per Page Six, citing the Des Moines Register, the estate is estimated at around $6 million, including his motorcycle collection, an Iowa farmhouse valued at $155,000, rare antiques, show earnings and more. Frank appeared on American Pickers alongside Mike Wolfe and Danielle Colby from 2010 to 2020; he left in 2020 for back surgery and was officially terminated in 2021, per Page Six.
There is a painful irony here. Frank spent a decade on television putting a value on other people’s forgotten things. Now an Iowa jury must do something harder: decide whose version of his final wishes counts, with Frank no longer here to settle it. Because the case is sealed, the November trial — not the headlines — will hold the real answers.
The 247 Take — Mediation failing tells you everything about how far apart these two sides are: one says “honor his wishes,” the other says the wishes were never really his. A jury — not a headline — should be the thing that settles that.
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Sources: Page Six
