Heiress’ Widower, Her Estate Settle Dispute

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — The widower of publishing heiress Margaret Lesher and her trustees have reached a settlement agreement in a dispute over her estate.

The two sides were fighting over more than $5 million in gifts and inheritance. Professional buffalo trainer Collin T.C. Thorstenson, 42, had filed a countersuit last year in Arizona to a suit filed by the estate.

Lesher, 65, drowned in an Arizona lake in 1997 while camping with Thorstenson, her husband of six months. The death was ruled accidental; Lesher’s children accused Thorstenson of fraud for not disclosing a previous marriage and allegations of domestic violence. Lesher inherited money from her husband, Dean, whose publishing empire was worth $360 million. Her estate is worth an estimated $100 million.