Neville Wran's family was unhappy in its own way during his final years but his widow Jill Hickson regained control of her husband's affairs after they reconciled in 2012.
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Ms Hickson and his four children Kim, Glenn, Harriet and Hugo are believed to be the main beneficiaries of his multimillion-dollar estate.
Real estate is thought to comprise much of the family's inheritance. They had a home in Woollahra, a beach house in Palm Beach and a farm in the Yarramalong Valley on the Central Coast.
The former NSW premier had retreated from much of his business investments as he grew frail. However, in addition to real estate assets, Ms Hickson, who stayed with him until his death, can also expect to be eligible for a fair slice of his towering parliamentary pension, built to stratospheric heights thanks to his 10-year stint as premier.
Another of his beneficiaries is likely to be his New Caledonia-born god-daughter Helene De Poortere. A Sydney travel agent and investor, Ms Poortere had been one of Mr Wran's most constant visitors during his last years.
Mr Wran, a friend of her father's, had played a major role in Ms Poortere's life, supporting her for years when she arrived in Sydney from the French Pacific colony. During one of his sick periods, Mr Wran once described the French/Vietnamese New Caledonian as ''my rock''.
The 87-year-old died on Sunday after a long illness, and on Monday his family accepted the offer of a state funeral.
Mr Wran and Ms Hickson married in 1976, a month after his divorce from his first wife Marcia Oliver was finalised and three months after he won the election and became premier. He was 50, she was 28. They had two children and a sometimes rocky relationship over their 38-year marriage.
They first split publicly in 2006.
They reconciled 18 months later, but in 2011 Ms Hickson returned home to find her Woollahra house empty and her husband and his carer gone. They had temporarily moved to the Vaucluse home of long-term business partner Albert Wong and his wife, Sophie.
Ms Hickson had become concerned after her husband withdrew almost $1 million from a joint account and she was reported as telling friends he had dementia and did not have the capacity to make business decisions.
However, the Wongs joined with Mr Wran's daughter from his first marriage, Kim Sheftell, 57, in claiming that while he might be weak in body, mentally he was still sharp.
He had also changed his will and executed documents removing his wife as power of attorney and replacing her with Mrs Sheftell and Mr Wong, who had been his business partner since 2004.
The pair were also appointed enduring guardians, along with the former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Wran and Mr Turnbull were once partners in the merchant bank Whitlam Turnbull.
Mr Wran eventually left the Wongs, first moving into rental accommodation in the upmarket ''Toaster'' building at Circular Quay and then becoming a resident at the Elizabeth Bay aged-care facility Lulworth House.
In late 2012, the couple again reconciled.
''I relinquished all my dealings with Neville, business or otherwise. Jill took control of his affairs again,'' Mr Wong said on Monday.
Ms Hickson did not wish to comment: ''I don't want to go over all that again.''
