Joe Paterno’s Will To Remain Sealed From Public View

Joe Paterno’s last will and testament will remain sealed and unavailable to the public along with all court filings related to Joe Paterno and his family, according to a local newspaper.

Family spokesman Dan McGinn said Sunday that this measure was taken as a recommendation by the estate attorney “in an attempt to preserve a measure of privacy for the family.”

“This is not an unusual request for high-profile individuals, and all parties to the will and the judge readily agreed to the request,” McGinn told The Associated Press.

“The Paterno family has been totally transparent with respect to Coach Paterno’s contract and pension. Sue Paterno has also reiterated her commitment to support charitable causes connected to Penn State and the State College community. These efforts will continue.”

Joe Paterno originally completed his last will and testament in June 1997. The will was then amended to make his wife, Sue, the executor in February 2010.

Reports show that the estate paid a $200,000 inheritance tax, which depending on the rate at the time, would make the taxable estate inheritance in the range of $1.35 million to $4.45 million.

Also, according to the state retirement system, Joe Paterno left his wife a total of $13.4 million in pension benefits with which she plans to give $1.5 million to charity, including $500,000 of that going to the Suzanne Pohland Paterno Catholic Student Faith Center.

According to the Huffington Post, the coach avoided discussing his salary for years until a court ordered Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System to disclose Paterno’s base salary of $512,664, saying it was a public record.