Panettiere's ex granted legal status to protect estate

Hayden Panettiere's ex-fiance has been granted legal authority by a US court to protect her property for their 11-year-old daughter after the TV star's accidental overdose death.

Former boxer Wladimir Klitschko had filed the urgent petition last week, saying pieces of Panettiere's property were being taken by US law enforcement agents investigating her death and by an unnamed non-family member looking to sell them.

Klitschko, a Ukrainian former world champion boxer, has had full custody of the girl, Kaya, for most of her life, and she has lived with him in Ukraine.

The father and daughter appeared in Los Angeles County court remotely via videoconference. They spoke only to introduce themselves at the brief hearing with only Kaya visible on camera, sitting at a table in front of curtains.

Judge Stephanie Santoro granted Klitschko the status of temporary guardian of Kaya's estate until a long-term administrator can be appointed.

Santoro asked Klitschko's lawyer, Diane Park, why the matter was urgent. Park said they believed a person described only as a non-relative had taken items after Panettiere's death and had tried to sell some of her jewellery at a pawn shop.

She said assets were in danger of going unaccounted for during the death investigation.

Court documents said authority was needed to deal with both the pawnshop owner and police agencies.

Panettiere, the former star of the TV series Heroes and Nashville, was pronounced dead in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16 at age 36 after paramedics found her unresponsive.

A coroner's report obtained by The Associated Press said her death was from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl. She had been in rehab just weeks before. Her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the home.

Park told Santoro that the property, the pawnshop and the non-family member were in Los Angeles County, where the judge's ruling held authority.

Klitschko's September 24 petition emphasised that his intention is solely to protect his daughter's future assets until a permanent administrator can be put in place.

The filing said before her death, Panettiere and Klitschko hired security to protect her home because an unnamed person had gained unauthorised access.

Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, filed a document saying she consented to Klitschko being appointed.