Harley alleged his siblings exploited their father’s declining mental health to influence decisions and gain greater wealth.
The November 2023 death of Spokane property magnate Harlan Douglass left an estimated $600 million. 26, 2026, a Washington judge finds that two of his children financially exploited their father while he was vulnerable with dementia and Alzheimer’s. The decision effectively disqualifies them from receiving an inheritance, potentially leaving their older brother in control of a fortune that could exceed $1 billion when disputed assets are included. As reported by The Spokesman-Review, the 2018 will provides for an equal division among the three children. Yahoo News reports that the disputed estate, property holdings and promissory notes could take the total value involved beyond $1 billion. Harlan, who built one of Spokane’s most significant real estate fortunes, died at 86.
Because of the financial exploitation finding, the court may still need to determine whether their respective shares should pass to their own children or be absorbed by Harley’s inheritance, however, with Lanzce and Stacey now barred from inheriting. The fortune, accumulated in property over decades, is now at the centre of an extraordinary family inheritance battle over manipulation, disputed documents, and a father whose failing memory made him increasingly dependent on others. A bitter legal battle ensued between his three children over his fortune. In a major ruling on Oct. The ruling also marks another painful chapter for a family whose relationships have deteriorated over years of legal proceedings. His legacy is now being shaped as much by the courtrooms as by the properties and business interests he left behind. Images Courtesy: istock and The Spokesman-Review You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
An earlier inheritance dispute raised similar questions
He experienced increasing memory problems from 2016 onwards, followed by confusion with numbers, difficulty understanding documents and trouble managing everyday responsibilities, according to The Spokesman-Review. By 2019, he increasingly depended on others to read paperwork, organise his medication, arrange appointments and handle financial matters. In her 58-page ruling, Spokane Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn High-Edward found that these circumstances made Harlan particularly vulnerable to outside influence. She concluded that Lanzce and Stacey had used this vulnerability to get him to sign documents that they had prepared, without ensuring he understood their contents, explains Yahoo News, The judge also invalidated promissory notes worth approximately $155 million that would have benefited the younger siblings and their children. Yahoo News reports that a similar dispute followed the death of Harlan’s wife, Maxine Douglass, in 2016. Her 2008 will had allocated 50% of her estate to Harley, 40% to Stacey and 10% to Lanzce. However, a document prepared in 2019, known as the Hamilton Deed, subsequently transferred much of her estate towards the younger siblings and removed Harley as a beneficiary. In 2023, a judge ruled in Harley’s favour, invalidating the deed.
The two inheritance battles have therefore involved overlapping allegations about the influence exerted on Harlan as his health declined. A court later found that Lanzce had orchestrated the preparation of the document, which was signed by Harlan when witnesses observed him struggling to stay awake and follow what was happening. Harlan seemed to have had mental issues for years before signing the dispute papers. Property assignments involving four real estate holdings were also voided, restoring the assets to Harley. The latest ruling was not the family’s first courtroom battle over an inheritance. The October ruling represents a significant victory for Harley, but the final distribution of the family fortune is not entirely settled.
A family fortune divided by a disputed will
Harlan’s estate included a substantial real estate portfolio valued at approximately $350 million, alongside promissory notes worth another $155 million, according to The Spokesman-Review. The disagreement intensified after Harlan’s will was changed in 2019. An earlier version, signed in 2018, divided his estate equally among his three children. The revised document, however, allocated 65% to Lanzce, 35% to Stacey and just $1,000 to Harley.
His three children, Harley Douglass, Lanzce Douglass and Stacey Douglass Boies, had been at the centre of a prolonged dispute over how these assets should be distributed. Harley claimed his younger siblings used their father’s mental decline to influence his decisions and take more of the family’s wealth.