Turkey Teachings from Celebrities’ Estate Planning Mistakes

The family gathering for thanksgiving may be a perfect opportunity to discuss important estate planning topics to avoid bitter fights within the family later. Some recent celebrity stories provide lessons to get the conversation started.

Kim Kardashian’s brief stint with marriage provides a couple of valuable lessons.

What we learn from Kim: Update estate planning documents when you get married. More importantly, if you and your spouse decide that it is not going to work out, update the documents as soon as you can, even before the divorce is final. If you die while divorce proceedings are still going on and you have not updated your will, your soon-to-be ex-husband will still get what you left to them according to your will.

Michael Jackson’s estate and trust news has been shuffled to the back burner with all of the Conrad Murray news. Recently however, the executors announced that they will be funding Michael’s trust with $30 million. But it will be a while before the beneficiaries see any of that money because funding the trust is not the same as distributing money to the trust beneficiaries.

What we learn from Michael: You should transfer your bank accounts, real estate, and other assets into your trusts that you have set up during your lifetime. Otherwise, the assets have to pass through probate court, which is costly, time consuming, and public for all to see.

See Pass the Turkey With A Side Of Celebrity Estate Planning Stories, Forbes, November 14, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.