Aretha’s Lack of a Will Could Make Things Rocky for Heirs

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog: Estate law experts expressed surprise but not shock that a wealthy person like Aretha Franklin would put off making a will until it was too late. Laura Zwicker, an attorney who specializes in estate planning but is not affiliated with the Franklin estate, says she sees it happen far too often. “People don't like to face their own mortality.

2018-09-04T12:15:30-07:00September 4th, 2018|Beneficiaries, Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

“Que Je T’Aime”: L’affaire d’heritage de Johnny Hallyday

The National Law Review:  “As a battle rages on in Nanterre, west of Paris, over the estate of Johnny Hallyday, who is best known as the “French Elvis”, and spills out across the pages of the tabloid press in France, we offer a view from Hallyday’s adopted home, Los Angeles, California. It is, after all, the central question of this affair whether a will and trust executed in California under California law, which was intended to dispose of assets that include Hallyday’s properties in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, will be respected or tossed aside as a violation of French forced-heirship laws. The saga of the Hallyday case is a cautionary tale for French nationals who reside outside of France or who have property or assets outside of France, or for foreigners who may be considered domiciliaries of France (or other nations with inheritance laws that differ from France), as well as for members of their families whose inheritance may be caught in between.”

2018-08-27T10:39:31-07:00August 31st, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media, Wills|

Aretha Franklin Died Without a Will

WealthManagement.com:  “Deeply private in life, Aretha Franklin’s estate will be laid bare for all to see, as according to court documents, she died without having a will or trust in place. Documents filed by her four sons in Oakland County Probate Court on Tuesday acknowledged the absence of a will and named themselves as parties interested in her estate. The relevant clause reads: “The decedent died intestate and after exercising reasonable diligence, I am unaware of any unrevoked testamentary instrument relating to property located in this state….” Additionally, Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens, asked to be appointed as the estate’s personal representative. There’s no indication that any of the parties are in conflict and, at least for the moment, the family seems to be on the same page, which is vital when potentially large estates (Franklin’s exact net worth is unknown, but it’s estimated at roughly $80 million and includes the rights to a number of her hit songs) pass through intestacy.

2018-08-27T10:32:07-07:00August 30th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

WealthManagement.com:  “The current swelling of demand for investment art has caused a sharp increase in legal proceedings over questions of authenticity and provenance. The rise of social media has had a disruptive effect on art marketing. The internet has emerged as a marketplace in which artists can display their work, dealers can market them and buyers can discover them. This has increased the exposure of taxable estates and heirs to sophisticated counterfeiters. This problem has harshly exposed the difficulties inherent in conducting suitable due diligence in such an opaque and unregulated market. Luckily,  there are new evolving technologies of which professionals should be aware, as well as the new standards of practice used to employ them.”

2018-08-27T10:27:26-07:00August 29th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Harper Lee Estate Sues Broadway Adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird

At Your Bequest:  “One of this year’s most anticipated Broadway productions was at risk of being shuttered before it ever opened because of a fierce dispute between producers and the estate of the book’s author on which the play is based. A representative of the estate of Harper Lee, the reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird, sued producer Scott Rudin and his production company, Rudinplay Inc., alleging that the stage adaptation authored by Aaron Sorkin violated the licensing agreement Lee signed prior to her death in February 2016.

2018-08-27T10:20:15-07:00August 28th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Sen. John McCain to lie in state. Here’s What That Means

CNN:  “Sen. John McCain, whose more than three-decade career in the Senate irreversibly impacted the tenor of Washington, will lie in state in the US Capitol this week, an honor given to few statesmen. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime ally of McCain, said that the decision came “in coordination with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.”

2018-08-27T10:13:39-07:00August 27th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Aretha Franklin had NO will: Singer did not outline plans for her $80million estate before her tragic death

Daily Mail:  “Aretha Franklin passed away at her home in Detroit after a long battle with pancreatic cancer last Thursday. And while the Queen Of Soul had been struggling with health for some time, the iconic star did not leave behind a will, according to reports from TMZ. The Respect singer's estate is estimated to be worth around an $80million, according to People.

2018-08-22T10:24:09-07:00August 22nd, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media, Trusts, Wills|

Man accused of killing family wants his trust fund

The Washington Post:  “A Vermont man accused by relatives of killing his millionaire grandfather and his mother to collect inheritance money asked a Connecticut probate judge Tuesday to allow him immediate access to $150,000 in a family trust so he can pay for legal expenses. Nathan Carman also requested that his aunt, Valerie Santilli, be removed as trustee of the Nathan Carman Family Trust, a fund that was set up for him by his grandfather in 2011 and is worth about $270,000 today, according to court documents. Judge Owen Eagan set a full hearing date of Sept. 6 and gave Carman, who is representing himself, and Santilli’s lawyers time to question witnesses and exchange documents.”

2018-08-13T11:18:28-07:00August 16th, 2018|Estate Fights, Estate Planning, Social Media|

Vinnie Paul Leaves Most Of His Estate To His Best Friend And His Longtime Girlfriend

Blabbermouth.net:  “According to TMZ, Vinnie Paul Abbott left the bulk of his estate to to his best friend and longtime girlfriend. TMZ obtained the document which outlines exactly how his estate should be divided following his sudden death last month, and Vinnie's friend Charles Jones will get 38% while the drummer's girlfriend, Chelsey Yeager, will walk away with 37%. The rest is split between Vinnie's tour manager (10%), drum tech (5%), producer (5%) and friend (5%). In addition, Vinnie is giving his interest in his brother and PANTERA co-founder “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott's estate to Dimebag's longtime girlfriend, Rita Haney. The PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer was buried on June 30 next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.”

2018-08-06T16:32:09-07:00August 10th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Prince’s Estate Files Lawsuit Over Cybersquatting of Prince.com

ABA Journal:  “The estate of the late recording artist and actor Prince is suing an Englewood, New Jersey-based domain broker for cybersquatting the prince.com website. Filed last Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the suit alleges that Domain Capital is infringing on the estate’s “PRINCE” trademark by owning the domain.”

2018-08-06T14:55:20-07:00August 7th, 2018|Estate Fights, Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Son claims his wealthy, reclusive and ill elderly father was pressured into leaving millions to a boarding school prior to freezing to death in his $10M New York City townhouse

Daily Mail:  “A court battle is underway over a wealthy and reclusive man's estate after it was revealed that he left the bulk of his millions to the boarding school he went to as a teen. Peter Knoll, 75, was found dead in his multimillion-dollar Upper East Side, New York City townhouse on January 8, after having died several days prior. A medical examiner declared that he had frozen to death and it was later revealed that he had been living without gas hooked up in his home since 2014. According to the executor of his estate, Peter's 2017 will declared that each of his three children would receive just $50,000, while his grandchildren were allotted $100,000. Select friends and acquaintances were to receive anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000. “

2018-07-30T14:09:16-07:00August 2nd, 2018|Estate Fights, Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Two Men Claiming to be Charles Manson’s Sons Eliminated From Fight Over Estate

Daily Mail:  “A Los Angeles judge has eliminated two purported sons of Charles Manson from the battle over his estate. Matthew Lentz, a musician who claims Manson conceived him at an orgy in 1967, and Michael Brunner, whose mother was a member of the family, were two of four people fighting over the cult leader's estate. On Friday, Judge Clifford Klein eliminated them on lack of proof that they were the rightful heirs to all memorabilia or, crucially, his image and publishing rights.”

2018-07-16T12:13:05-07:00July 16th, 2018|Beneficiaries, Estate Fights, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

How Anthony Bourdain’s Estate Plan Reflected The Two Most Important Parts Of His Life

Forbes:  “Ever since his untimely death, the press and the public hasn't been able to get enough of Anthony Bourdain. His name caused another commotion this week when his will was probated in New York. The New York Post’s Page Six headline read “Anthony Bourdain Worth Only $1.21M at the Time of His Death.” Social media responded immediately as the actual dollar amount just didn’t seem right.  How could Bourdain’s net worth be so much less than the public previously speculated? While a man’s worth is quite subjective, Bourdain, by all accounts, was an American success story. Though he often admitted that he’d lived paycheck to paycheck well into his 40s, by having an estate valued in excess of $1 million, Bourdain could be considered in the top 3% of all Americans in terms of wealth. In his case, the estate plan reflected two interesting aspects of the man and what he truly valued.

2018-07-09T11:16:20-07:00July 10th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Heather Mack settles claims for mother’s estate four years after killing her with her boyfriend – and all the money left will go to her daughter Stella, 3

Daily Mail:  “‘Body In A Suitcase' murderer Heather Mack has given up her claim on her mother's million dollar estate – which will now go to her three-year-old daughter Stella. Mack is serving a ten year sentence in one of the world's most notorious prisons in Bali for murdering her mom Sheila von Wiese-Mack with her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer in 2014 in a plot to take her inheritance.”

2018-06-25T16:04:54-07:00June 26th, 2018|Estate Fights, Estate Planning, Social Media|

ALAN THICKE’S WIDOW HIS SONS ARE BEING SHADY WITH $$$ … Where’s My Inheritance?!

TMZ:  Alan Thicke's widow says his sons are treating her unfairly and believes they might be recklessly spending his money while holding out on her inheritance … according to new legal docs. Tanya Thicke claims Alan's sons — Robin and Brennan, who are co-trustees of their late father's estate — are not only keeping her in the dark about how they are managing his trust ... but are ganging up on her and possibly robbing her from what she's owed.

2018-05-14T16:20:31-07:00May 18th, 2018|Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Rockefeller Estate Auction Ignites Frenzy Among Several Pieces

Financial Advisor Magazine:  Get ready for the biggest tag sale in history. More than 1,500 items from the estate of Peggy and David Rockefeller — Impressionist and American paintings, English furniture and silver, 19th century carriages, Persian rugs, Japanese porcelain, Moroccan lamps, a Napoleon’s dinner service, duck decoys, gilded Buddhist deities, African figurines — are coming up for auction, starting May 8 at Christie’s in New York. There is an online sale and six live auctions. Christie’s officially estimated the trove at more than $500 million, while privately whispering that it may be much higher.

2018-05-14T16:05:23-07:00May 16th, 2018|Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Prince’s Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Hospital, Pharmacy Chain

NPR:  “Prince's heirs have filed a wrongful death suit against the drugstore chain Walgreens and an Illinois hospital where the singer was treated, then released, the week before his fatal overdose in 2016. Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepic reports that attorneys representing Prince's estate allege that Trinity Medical Center, in Moline, Ill., where Prince's plane made an emergency landing on April 15, 2016, failed to appropriately diagnose and treat his overdose.”

2018-05-01T16:03:11-07:00May 4th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Is Stan Lee Being Held Prisoner by Real-life Villains?

The New York Times:  “Stan Lee, one of the inspirational founts that gave birth to the modern Marvel Universe and characters such as Blank Panther, Spider Man, and the X-Men, has always lived in a world populated by all-power villains and valiant heroes. But, these characters are imaginary. Today though, Lee is rumored to have attracted a following of real-life villains set on siphoning his wealth while keeping him a prisoner in his own home. After the death of his wife, Joan Lee, suspicions arose concerning Lee’s dwindling bank accounts and there were even some reports that a former associate stole his blood to sell to fans.

2018-04-23T11:31:23-07:00April 26th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|

Prince’s Overdose Death Results in No Criminal Charges

The New York Times:  “Prince Rogers Nelson was found dead in an elevator in Paisley Park at the age of 57. A toxicology report revealed high concentrations of fentanyl in the singer’s blood, stomach, and liver. Though fentanyl is a legal prescription, it is often used to manufacture knock-off pills, like oxycodone and other painkillers, that are sold on the black market. Minnesota law enforcement announced Thursday that no one would be charged for Prince’s death as they could not determine who actually provided the drug that killed him. Mark Metz, a Carver county attorney, said that they “ have no direct evidence that a specific person provided the fentanyl to Prince.”

2018-04-23T10:55:56-07:00April 24th, 2018|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Social Media|
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