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O.J. Simpson died Thursday. He had only paid a small part of the $33.5 million of the California civil jury award to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Decades old controversies remain. And only a small part of the civil judgement has been paid.

OJ was acquitted in a criminal trial in 1995. But he was found liable by jurors in a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit.

Attorney David Cook has been trying to collect the civil judgment for Goldman's family since 2008. He claims that Simpson "died without penance. We don't know what he has, where it is or who is in control. We will pick up where we are and keep going with it." 

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Civil Jury Award

Simpson's acquittal may have granted him temporary reprieve, but the civil jury award cast a shadow over his financial future. 

Despite his best efforts to evade accountability he was forced to auction off his cherished possessions like his Heisman Trophy for $230,000.

Probate Process

Property dispute experts say it's much easier to collect if funds are in probate after the debtor is deceased. Because in some cases they try to avoid paying judgements.

The estate administer has much more of an incentive to dispense with debts than the living person does. But of course, that doesn't mean payment will be forthcoming.

The probate process in Simpson's estate will be governed by Nevada law, where he resided. However, the dispersion of assets may extend beyond state borders, since he led large parts of his life in California and Florida. 

For the families of the victims, the civil jury award was never solely about financial restitution but rather a quest for accountability. With Simpson's death the pursuit of justice takes on a new dimension.

The Goldman and Brown families have always said that it wasn’t about money, and they can’t get their loved ones back. His passing marks the end of an era. And regardless of whether any more of the nearly 30-year-old judgement is paid the families don’t feel they got justice.

Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, issued a statement Thursday saying that with Simpson's death, "the hope for true accountability has ended."