Aaron Hernandez may have set up trust for daughter before suicide

Prior to hanging himself in his prison cell last April, disgraced Patriot Aaron Hernandez may have squirreled away money for his 5-year-old daughter.

The "AJH Irrevocable Trust" was referenced in documents filed in Bristol Probate and Family Court by attorney John G. Dugan, the special representative of Hernandez's purportedly destitute estate, according to the Boston Herald.

Irrevocable trusts are intended to protect beneficiaries from other claims because the creator relinquishes ownership and control of the assets set aside. The contents of the trust are not public record.

Last week, Judge Richard J. McMahon ordered Rubin and Rudman, a Boston law firm that assisted Hernandez in establishing the trust, to turn over confidential "documents and related materials" that Dugan told McMahon he needed help to obtain, per the Herald.

Hernandez had signed a contract extension worth up to $40 million with the Patriots in August 2012. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in June 2013, and the team cut him immediately. Hernandez was later convicted of killing Odin Lloyd, but that conviction was thrown out following his suicide because he had not had the opportunity to exhaust the appeals process.

Hernandez's daughter, Avielle, visited the courtroom where Hernandez stood trial for his alleged role in a double homicide last spring. It was a week before he hanged himself. Hernandez was cleared by the jury in that case, but multiple victims' families continue to pursue wrongful death lawsuits against his estate.

Hernandez's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, is the head of his estate. In a suicide note to Jenkins-Hernandez, the former Patriots wrote, "You're rich."

Last month, Hernandez's attorney, Jose Baez, announced that Hernandez suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He played three seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots.