Rick Ciarniello and plaintiff lived together since 2012 but his 2010 will, after donations to gang’s Vancouver chapter, gave remainder of estate to his adult children. Her lawsuit alleges assets were given to them before will was finalized and she as his common-law wife was cut out
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The spouse of a deceased Hells Angels spokesman is challenging his will in court, alleging part of his estate was improperly given to his adult children before it was legally settled.
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Stephanie Manning, who had lived common-law with Rickey Ciarniello in his house since 2012, filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court naming the executor and the two children.
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Also named as defendants are the Hells Angels Vancouver chapter and a numbered company that were also beneficiaries of the will. But the document said Manning is not disputing his wishes to have his half-share of the gang’s Coquitlam club bequeathed to its numbered company, 610955 BC Ltd., nor is she filing any claims against the Hells Angels or its property.
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Manning, who said she and Ciarniello were to have been married in the two-week period before the day he died, March 13, 2025, said she filed the claim to receive “adequate provision” for her “proper maintenance and support,” as provided her common-law spouses under B.C.’s Wills and Succession Act.
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The claim says the will, written and signed in 2010 before they became a couple, failed to provide her with adequate support.
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It alleges that his assets, which the will listed as $233,788, were transferred before or after his death for the benefits of his son, Jordan Ciarniello, and his daughter, Misty Ciarniello, as the will states that “the residue of the estate is to be divided equally among the defendants, Jordan and Misty.”
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Manning is asking that the court order Ciarniello’s assets traced and recovered for the estate so her claim can be heard.
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She alleges the executor, Camille Ciarniello, hadn’t traced or recovered those assets and will not take any steps to do so because she was in a “position of conflict.” The lawsuit doesn’t state the executor’s relationship to Ciarniello.
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Manning says she and Ciarniello shared a home on Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam, next door to the chapter’s clubhouse, and they were in an “intimate, committed and exclusive conjugal relationship, shared a bedroom, took their meals together, cared for one another, and held themselves out publicly and were regarded by their family, friends and community, as spouses.”
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A public obituary after Ciarniello’s death listed Manning as his “loving wife” and her children as his.
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In early March 2025, the couple arranged for a marriage commissioner to marry them but the official declined just before the scheduled date because of the location of the ceremony, it said.
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They hired a different commissioner to marry them in their home, but that had to be cancelled when Ciarniello’s health rapidly declined, it said.
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Manning also said in her claim she had contributed financially to their shared household, performed domestic labour and services, and provided “extensive personal care” to Ciarniello during his illness “without adequate compensation.”
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They had separate bank accounts but they both spent money on one another on groceries, household bills and gifts to each other, said the lawsuit.
