A dead judge who was dismembered by his son left an $800,000 estate. So who gets it?

The son was found guilty of dismembering his body, but not murdering him. 

Should he inherit his $800,000 estate? That's the question at the center of a bizarre trial that's stretched from Michigan to Florida.

James "Skip" Scandirito was a former Macomb County District Judge. However, after he resigned from the bench in 2000 due to allegations of fixing tickets for sexual favors, he retired to Florida. Then residents of Boca Raton stumbled across a frightening sight in March of 2018.

James had been murdered, his body dismembered and the body parts had been spread over an abandoned golf course. The suspect was none-other than his son and only child, Jimmy Scandirito.

But Jimmy was found not guilty of his father's murder.

"He happened upon his father," said Mark Frankel, a probate attorney. "It was a compromising situation. There was the son's cocaine all over the room, the son was worried that he would be in trouble for it, so he got rid of his father's body and said he was missing."

Jimmy is currently looking at 15 years in prison for his crime. He was sentenced on Friday. However, there's $800,000 estate still in the name of James. Frankel said what happens to that money is shaping up to a very interesting battle. 

That's because the other party hoping to inherit the money is James' sister.

"They acquitted him on the murder charge so, it sounds like the son has a leg up here," said Frankel. "But, you wouldn't have thought the same thing with OJ too."

He's referring of course to O.J. Simpson, who was found not guilty in a criminal trial, but was forced to forfeit money to the victim's family after a civil case. That's because the burden of proof is lower in a civil case - a little like the Scandirito case.

So, should the son get his dad's money, even though he chopped his body? 

"Well, the slayer statute doesn't address abuse of the body after the person is dead," said Frankel.

Both Florida and Michigan have a "slayer statute" which says you can't profit from a crime. Whether that's applicable in this incident is up for debate. The sister could also still prove murder.