Leonard Cohen’s Manager Cleared of Financial Wrongdoing After 10-Day Trial

Following a ten-day probate trial, Robert Kory, the longtime manager of the late Leonard Cohen, has been cleared of all allegations of financial misconduct. The court-appointed referee, retired judge Glen Reiser, issued a ruling on March 23 stating that Kory had "fully and competently" executed Cohen's wishes as trustee. The referee found every challenged action to be "reasonable and ethical," and noted that Cohen's children, Adam and Lorca, had given their full knowledge and approval for Kory's management of the estate.

The legal dispute centered on objections from Adam Cohen and a successor trustee to a series of expenses Kory incurred. These included charges for Uber rides, an AT&T phone bill, Apple products, and Canadian immigration fees, totaling several thousand dollars. Judge Reiser rejected all these objections, determining the disbursements were correct and for proper purposes. The ruling also highlighted significant interference by Adam Cohen in major estate transactions. He was faulted for delaying the $58 million sale of his father's music catalog to the song management company Hipgnosis—a deal originally valued at $60 million—by threatening to block it unless Kory reduced his management fee. This eight-month standoff ultimately cost the estate $2 million.

Further complicating the estate's administration, Adam Cohen also blocked the potential sale of Leonard Cohen's extensive personal archive. This collection, which includes 200 notebooks, paintings, instruments, and ephemera, was once appraised at approximately $48 million. Adam Cohen, a musician who has publicly grappled with the weight of his father's legacy, was accused by Kory during the trial of engaging in a metaphorical "patricide" to escape his shadow. Kory testified that Leonard Cohen himself had foreseen this dynamic, famously comparing his son to Hamlet, "a prince haunted by his father’s ghost who poisons everyone he touches."

The referee also exonerated Kory regarding the creation of the trust documents. Allegations that Kory conspired with Cohen's estate planner to forge a document securing his position as trustee were dismissed. Reiser found Kory had no knowledge of the planner's actions, and that all parties had subsequently agreed he should remain as trustee. As part of the catalog sale, Adam and Lorca Cohen each received $18 million directly, Kory collected $7 million, and the remainder was placed into the family trust from which the siblings are the sole beneficiaries. The referee's recommendations now go to a probate judge for final approval, and Kory may seek reimbursement for his legal fees.