Celebrity Estate Planning Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

One would think that big stars like Prince would have a team of high-powered advisors, compared to the average Joe and Jane. But that isn’t so, says CNBC in the recent article “Don’t make these celebrities’ estate-planning blunders.”

Celebrities make the same mistakes. Here are a few:

Mistake #1: No Will. Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t have a will. This has included the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Prince, Sonny Bono, Jimi Hendrix and Pablo Picasso. Dying without a will can mean numerous potentially disastrous consequences, like your assets not being distributed to those you intended or family in-fighting. The state intestacy laws apply and they are rigid regarding who gets what share of the estate. And without specific instructions from the deceased, an estate may be fought over in court by family members who think they deserve their fair share.

Mistake #2: No Current Will. Signing a will is just the beginning: you need to regularly update your estate planning documents and beneficiaries when your financial and personal situation changes. Look at singer Barry White. He was separated but not divorced from his second wife at the time of his death. As a result, his wife got everything. White’s live-in girlfriend of several years got zero.

Mistake #3: No Tax Plan. Even if you’re not ultra-rich and your wealth is well below the federal estate tax threshold of $5.45 million per person this year, there may be state estate taxes. Poor planning could force your heirs to sell valuable or sentimental items because there are insufficient liquid assets to pay the tax. Joe Robbie’s family sold its stake in the Miami Dolphins and Joe Robbie Stadium to pay estate taxes.

Mistake #4: No Reference to Personal Property. Comedian Robin Williams’s family has battled over his film memorabilia. And Martin Luther King Jr.’s kids fought over his Bible and Nobel medal. People forget about personal property in their estate planning, which can trigger lots of fights over who gets family heirlooms, collectibles and Dad’s Barry Manilow record collection. Be specific with descriptions.

Reference: CNBC (Sept. 17, 2016) “Don’t make these celebrities’ estate-planning blunders”

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