Learning from Celebrities’ Mistakes

Celebrity estate planning blunders can teach the rest of us a lesson.  A few examples include:

• Michael Jackson had a will and set up a trust for his children but forgot to fund the trust.  Now, it’s a family mess.
• Sonny Bono died without a will.  His widow had to deal with different claimants, including ex-wife Cher and a random man claiming to be Bono’s son. 
• Jimi Hendrix died without a will.  After his father’s death, Jimi’s half-sister got the whole estate while his brother got nothing.  

Although most people don’t have estates comparable in size to celebrities, “[e]rrors involving celebrity estates can motivate everyday families to talk ahead of time about who gets Mom’s blown-glass collection — long before things get overblown.”

Susan Tompor, Celebrity Estate Fights Can Offer Lessons for the Rest of Us, The News Tribune, May 12, 2010; see my prior post on the book Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!. 

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Wealth Counsel) for bringing this to my attention.