‘American Pickers’ Star Frank Fritz’s Will Challenged by Friend Four Months After Death

Martin Holmes February 10, 2025, 7:43 am

A friend of American Pickers’ Frank Fritz has challenged the late reality star’s will four months after his death, demanding a trial to determine his estate.

In July 2022, Fritz suffered a stroke, and his health never recovered. His loved ones later filed a conservatorship and guardianship on his behalf. He died on September 30, 2024, at 60 years old.

According to The U.S. Sun, Fritz’s lawyer filed a “will prior to death” to “safe keep” the document in October 2023, and a certificate was issued for approval of the will on October 18, 2024, just weeks after Fritz’s passing.

However, the outlet reports that on December 30, 2024, an attorney representing a friend of Fritz’s entered his appearance in the case on her behalf. Then, on February 3, 2025, a separate attorney filed a Petition in Probate to “set aside will and jury demand,” meaning a request for the will to be canceled or invalidated legally.

Fritz is estimated to have a net worth of $6 million, per The U.S. Sun.

American Pickers debuted on The History Channel in 2010 and saw Fritz, Mike Wolfe, and others traveling across the U.S. in search of rare Americana artifacts and national treasures to add to their collections or sell in their antique shops. The show would become one of the network’s most popular programs.

However, on July 21, 2021, the History Channel announced that Fritz would depart the series. In an interview with The U.S. Sun at the time, Fritz revealed he’d sought treatment for alcohol abuse ahead of his exit from the show and that he hadn’t spoken to Wolfe in two years. The pair later made up before Fritz’s death.

'American Pickers' Star Mike Wolfe Opens Up About Reconciling With Frank Fritz Before His Death

A longtime friend of Fritz, Jerry Gendreau, previously told the publication that an auction is planned for Fritz’s collection of antiques. “That’s what I would do because of his fan base, I think he’ll do really, really well with an auction,” Gendreau said.

Gendreau also opened up about Fritz’s health in the months before his death, sharing, “He felt really, really bad. You would go to see him in the nursing home and one-half of his body was completely done. He would lift his arm up and it would just drop. That’s got to be tough to be totally bedridden.”

While he said some days were better than others, he revealed Fritz would grow “frustrated” because he couldn’t say and do what he wanted.

“I’ve seen this when people get tired, they get tired. I think if you don’t have the will to live, you won’t,” he stated. “I think Frank could’ve lived a lot longer if the will to live would’ve been there.”