What is an estate planning failure? They come in all shapes and sizes. Here are three encountered by celebrities who have passed on. Let’s learn from their mistakes. May they RIP.
NAME: Peter Ustinov
DIED: March 28, 2004
AGE: 82 CAUSE: Congestive heart failure
ESTATE BLUNDER: Writing his last will in pencil 36 years before his death .
The double Oscar-winner Peter Ustinov was one of Britain’s most respected actors who starred in films including Spartacus, Death on the Nile and Logan’s Run. It is estimated that at the time of his death he would have been worth tens of millions. However, Peter Ustinov’s estate was dragged through the courts for years, resulting in most of his multimillion-dollar assets being swallowed up by legal fees. He composed his last will in pencil 36 years before he died in 2004. This led a court to rule he had died intestate, or without a will. He was married three times and had four children, but the bulk of his wealth went to his widow Lady Helene Ustinov. His children claimed that trusts he allegedly set up should have gone to them, but no one could prove their existence. His son Igor claimed in 2013 that pursuing the case had left him virtually bankrupt. (Source: Telegraph UK)
NAME: Juice WRLD
DIED: December 8, 2019
AGE: 21
CAUSE: Oxycodone and codeine overdose
ESTATE PLANNING FAILURE: Leaving legal matters unorganized.
A couple of months before Juice WRLD’s death, pop-punk legends Yellowcard sued the rapper over a melody of theirs he allegedly used, without credit, in his breakout hit, ‘Lucid Dreams’. In October Yellowcard demanded a $15 million payout, running royalties or shared ownership of Juice WRLD’s track, plus damages. It’s now come to light that before Juice WRLD passed he had not organized for his legal matters to be represented by anyone in case the worst happened – and now that it has, his estate has nobody to take care of his legal affairs and cannot be accessed for the current lawsuit. He had been 21- years-old for less than a week. Now, this makes things a little bit complicated. Because his estate has no legal representation, nobody can even look at the case let alone argue the late rapper’s case in court. Yellowcard has no plans to revoke the lawsuit, which goes to court early this month. (Source: Pedestrian.tv)
NAME: Sherman Helmsley
DIED: July 24, 2012
AGE: 74
CAUSE: Lung cancer
ESTATE PLANNING FAILURE: After his stint as George Jefferson, Helmsley moved on out to El Paso, which he adopted as his home, and considered his partner his family. But he did not take the step of cutting his actual family out of his will and his half-brother came back for him ― literally ― because he wanted to take his body back to his native Philadelphia. – As appeared in InsuranceNewsNet Magazine, May 2013