The Rich & Famous — 
we all are secretly fascinated with them. And wouldn’t you think that with all that money that they have, that they would never be caught without a wonderful Estate Plan, Trusts perfectly funded, end-of-life instructions, Powers of Attorney? Well, that is not the case. We have some incredible cautionary tales of the Rich & Famous, what they planned for, and what they can teach us to avoid.
Some very surprising famous people didn’t have a Will at all. Abraham Lincoln was one, believe it or not. Pablo Picaso, who was famously frugal. He loved his money, loved to accumulate it, and did not like to spend it. He was often said to pay for his meals or pay for anything he purchased with a check, and he’d scribble a little sketch on it, hoping that whoever had the check, knowing that he was a famous artist, might keep it and not cash it. But Picaso didn’t have a plan at all. It was reported there were $15 million in taxes in France as well as additional other multiple millions to settle the estate.
One of the most recent for us, and really quite tragic, is Prince. We all loved the musical legend. He was such a private person. He loved his foundations, his church, his young musicians. No planning, not even a Will. So after his tragic death, everything had to go to court. His one full-blood sister is not even considered sophisticated enough to be his Administrator, so this huge Trust was appointed. His five half siblings each got a share, but something like 147 people came forward and said they were in fact related to Prince. It was almost impossible to say what the value of his estate was. He didn’t set anything up for his foundation. He paid so many millions in taxes that would never have needed to be paid. No money for his church. No money for those young musicians that he always wanted to help. We could talk all day about the interesting things that happened with Prince’s estate, because we know about it. Why do we know? Because it’s all so public in probate court, where it has to be when no planning is done.
Some famous people begin planning but don’t do enough. Heath Ledger, whom we know from the Dark Knight, had done a Will when he was young and single. It was for his parents and his siblings. But then he had his lovely little daughter and then he tragically died young and he had never updated his plan. We do not have to give a share of our estate to our children. So a battle was brewing between the mother of his young daughter and his family. Luckily, they resolved it and most of the money was given by his family to his young daughter. Most of them do not end that amicably.
Also a recent death was Philip Seymour Hoffman. Again recently he had done some planning but not enough planning. He had named only one of his three children. He really wanted his children not to be rich brats, so he left the money to his lifetime partner to take care of them. Boy, if he had talked to me, I could have told him how to set up Trusts, make sure their travel was included, make sure their education was included, and it wouldn’t be up to his partner to determine how that money was spent. And, it certainly wouldn’t be subject to any future partner that his life partner at the time of his death might have.
Another cautionary tale is unfunded Trusts. Michael Jackson attempted to do a really good Estate Plan. He set up the beautiful documents, but he didn’t line it up with his assets. So, everything was in his name individually, and all had to go through probate to get to the Trust that he set up. And didn’t we all enjoy, whether we like it or not, learning private things like his mother’s grooming habits. And, of course, he had so many claims against him and was involved in so many lawsuits, that everything was just made all the muddier by the fact that he hadn’t done proper planning.
We all remember Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate, who famously left everything to her dog, Trouble. But she didn’t do adequate planning. She didn’t do the Pet Trusts that I’ve been telling you about. She wanted to disinherit her grandchildren, but they ended up getting a vast share of her estate because she didn’t get the right plan in place.
One example that I think is kind of sad is Casey Kasem a few years ago. We all know him as the voice of Scooby Doo, and his Top 40 [radio program]. He hadn’t done adequate planning. He had a new wife, as of course many people have a later-in-life partner. He had a daughter from a previous relationship. He got dementia and his daughter and his wife went to war. He, with his dementia, was dragged around the country, depending on what court and what state it was determined that either the wife or the daughter could have the care for his health. They are still battling as to where his remains can be laid. It’s just really sad, and could have been taken care of with an excellent Estate Plan.
Another famous example is Anna Nicole Smith, and the billionaire that she married when he was 90 and she was only 27. Her estate was still in court right up until her tragic death in her 30’s, and then her estate and what she might have, was now in an old Will which included a son who had predeceased her and had no mention of her little minor daughter at the time of her death.
We could talk all day about who knows why people don’t have good estate plans. Maybe they feel invincible. Maybe it’s because they’re constantly moving. Maybe they do get good advice, or don’t take it for whatever reason. It’s just amazing to me. A good 50% of us don’t do any planning, but you would imagine if you have that much access to wealth and advice that you would have it in place.
So it is true, the stars are just like the rest of us.
Do you know who did do a good job? Joan Rivers. She had a Trust for many years. She had 11 Amendments and three Restatements. Do you know what that Trust says? Neither do I! Because she did it so well, aligned it up with her assets, and it never went to court. We shouldn’t know what people have in their assets if they do the job right.
Frank Sinatra, also someone with many people laying a claim to that incredible legacy of his. He had a new wife and wanted to take care of her, and did that properly in his planning. His children got something, though not what they thought they should get, and no one could do anything because he had it locked up.
Now, why am I telling you all of this? You are the star. You’re the celebrity of your own life. And I know you want what you have, what’s precious to you, to go to who you want it to go to, and that you want to put the right person in charge. And you want to keep it private. I want, and you want, your family to be harmonious.
So, what you have is yours. Get the plan in place. Keep it private. Get a Trust and lined up with your assets. Update it! With the big stuff, births, deaths, marriages. Make sure that there isn’t some unintended beneficiary that is the last person that you would want to get something who will end up getting it over your loved ones. Get a plan in place. Keep it updated, and make sure that you don’t have any of these awful, cautionary tales happen to you.
Contact Kerlin Walsh Law at 708-448-5169, or email Eileen@KerlinWalshLaw.com
Eileen Kerlin Walsh discussed this topic on her Facebook LIVE Spring Tea with Kerlin Walsh Law on 3/26/21
