The late Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg’s children are suing his widow over alleged violations of his trust.
Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Famer who was known as “Ryno” and may be best remembered for his iconic performance on June 23, 1984, aka the “Sandberg Game,” died last summer at age 65 of metastatic prostate cancer.
In a civil lawsuit filed in Lake County district court, Ryne Sandberg’s son Justin and daughter Lindsey from his first marriage accused his second wife, Margaret Sandberg, of trying to shift control of his name, image and likeness to his stepson and the family financial adviser shortly before he died.
Before his death, Sandberg penned a document that would establish a publicity rights trust after his death to control his name, image and likeness. Justin Sandberg, Lindsey Sandberg Newton and Margaret Sandberg were named as trustees.
But Margaret Sandberg never responded to her stepchildren when they tried to set up the trust, and it was never created, in what Justin Sandberg and Lindsey Sandberg Newton are calling a “direct contravention” to their dad’s wishes, according to the complaint, first filed in April.
After divorcing his first wife Cindy, Sandberg married Margaret Koehnemann in August 1995.
The family’s financial advisers also tried twice to open a bank account where Ryne Sandberg’s publicity rights checks would be deposited. His children filled out the necessary documents, but Margaret Sandberg did not, and no bank account has been opened, the lawsuit claims.
Margaret Sandberg showed them a note earlier this year purportedly written by Ryne Sandberg before his death. The note identifies Margaret Sandberg’s son from a previous marriage, Steven Koehnemann (who was Ryne Sandberg’s stepson), and the family financial adviser, Kathy Lintz, as part of the “NIL committee,” referring to the name, image and likeness of Ryne Sandberg.
In the complaint, Ryne Sandberg’s children allege the note isn’t a valid amendment to his trust because it wasn’t presented to them until months after it was written and because any changes to the trust require the consent of the trustees. The trust can’t be altered to increase obligations or decrease compensation of the trustees without the consent of all of them, the complaint states.
They also said that the note was dated four days before their dad entered hospice in July 2025 and that he was in severe physical pain and mental anguish, calling into question his ability to make decisions about his trust. During this time, Ryne Sandberg was heavily medicated and it was difficult to hold conversations with him, the complaint states. The note was dated the same day Lindsey Sandberg Newton heard her dad screaming out in pain, the complaint states.
Sandberg died July 28, 2025.
In the trust document, Ryne Sandberg implored his first two children and second wife to work together to make decisions.
“It would disappoint me if they were unable to make decisions on my NIL in a positive and collaborative manner,” Ryne Sandberg wrote in the trust document, according to the complaint. “It is also important to me to have any project reflect positively on my legacy and my entire family.”
Margaret Sandberg could not be reached for comment. Norm Finkel, an attorney for Justin Sandberg and Lindsey Sandberg Newton, didn’t respond to a request for comment.