- Associated Press - Thursday, January 6, 2011

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — The will Elizabeth Edwards signed days before her death last month made no mention of her estranged husband, two-time presidential candidate John Edwards.

The will, signed Dec. 1, six days before her death, also named her eldest child, lawyer Cate Edwards, as the executor of her estate.

In the will, filed in Orange County Superior Court in North Carolina, Mrs. Edwards left personal effects, furniture, automobiles and other property to be divided among her children — Cate, 12-year-old Emma Claire and 10-year-old Jack.

Other documents valued Mrs. Edwards’ estate at $496,000 in cash, securities, household furnishings, vehicles and ownership in businesses. She also owned real estate worth an additional $1 million, and she controlled a trust that may hold more assets that do not have to be disclosed in court.

A death certificate said she died from the incurable breast cancer that returned in 2007 as Mr. Edwards campaigned for the presidency. The cancer first was diagnosed in 2004, a day after the Democratic ticket that included Mr. Edwards as the vice presidential candidate lost to President George W. Bush.

The Edwardses separated early last year after 32 years of marriage. Mr. Edwards admitted he fathered a child during an affair with a former campaign worker.

The Edwardses had several tumultuous years leading up to her death, struggling through his admission of the affair and eventual acknowledgment that he had fathered a child with his mistress in the middle of his 2008 presidential campaign. Mrs. Edwards said she worked for two years trying to reinvent her role as a spouse before making the difficult decision to separate from him.

The Edwardses were law school sweethearts who married just days after they took the bar exam together in the summer of 1977. They had four children together, including a son who died at age 16. Although the couple had separated, Mr. Edwards was at her side around the clock as her health deteriorated. He did not speak at her funeral.

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