Clients Can Learn From Celebrity Estate Blunders

Celebrity estate blunders are not only gossip tabloid material; they can also open the lines of communication for clients to discuss their own estate planning desires. Below are some of the most famous celebrity blunders:

• Sonny Bono died intestate only to have an alleged love child come forth and create problems with the estate distribution.
• Princess Diana’s desire to provide gifts to her godchildren failed because she did not properly designate the gifts.
• Heath Ledger, Marlon Brando, and James Brown all failed to create a proper estate plan, leaving a legal mess behind after their deaths.

Most individuals do not leave behind the amount of wealth that most celebrities do, but discussing celebrities’ mistakes helps clients understand potential problems that can occur with their own estate planning. Workshops are also available to help advisors learn lessons from celebrities’ mistakes. One of the more popular workshops is Trial & Heirs: Lessons from Celebrities to Grow Your Business.

See Karen DeMasters, Celebrity Foibles Can Be Learning Tools For Advisors, Clients, Financial Advisor, May 6, 2011; 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.