Most local residents will nod in agreement when one explains the importance of conducting New York estate planning as soon as possible. It is easy for most to understand the value of planning an inheritance, saving on taxes, and preparing for alternative decision makers. Yet, all estate planning lawyers know that there is a difference between recognizing the importance of a task and actually taking the time to get it done. Psychologists have found that when it comes to making the leap from knowing that a task should be completed to actually doing it, personal examples are usually the most effective motivators. It is one thing to learn about the value of planning, it is another to hear about a specific case of proper planning that helped an actual person. In fact, experts have also found that even more effective than stories of positive benefits are stories of plans gone awry. The stick is often more persuasive than the carrot.
That is where the estate planning misadventures of the rich and famous can be useful. Unfortunately, recent history is replete with stories of many well-known figures who did not take care of their affairs properly (or at all) before their passing. This week the SM Mirror ran down a quick list of some of the more well-known cases of celebrity estate planning blunders. A few included examples:
Jimi Hendrix
The great young guitarist passed away tragically at the age of twenty seven. As is common for those around that age, Mr. Hendrix did not have a will. Possession of his estate was disputed for decades, with Mr. Hendrix’s father officially taking ownership twenty years after the death. Upon the father’s passing, everything went to the father’s daughter from a second marriage. The father had adopted the daughter who was his second wife’s child from her former marriage. That means that Mr. Hendrix’s nearly $80 million fortune (which continues to grow) is owned by someone he never knew. This is the case even though there remain many family members who are still alive and were much closer companions to Mr. Hendrix during his life.
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando supposedly explained to his long-time housekeeper that she would be able to keep the home in which they lived following his death. She had been living there for years beforehand. However, the promise was never committed to writing. Oral promises are easily contested and often invalid. Upon Mr. Brando’s death the housekeeper lost her bid for the home and received only a small settlement.
Anna Nicole Smith
The model and TV reality star died without updating a will she had written six years earlier. The old will left everything to her son Daniel. However, Daniel had died several months before Ms. Smith. Therefore, the probate court will likely have to apply default rules to determine how her assets are distributed. However, the case remained unresolved five years after her death, because Ms. Smith herself was involved in a fifteen year battle for a share in the assets of her billionaire former husband after his own will was contested.
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