Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes

Celebrity estate planning mistakes can be useful in helping us to avoid the same issues. In this article, we will go over five celebrity estate planning mistakes.

James Gandolfini

Estate Value: $70 million

Date of Death: June 19, 2013

James Gandolfini had estate planning documents in place. The issue was he did not address tax planning. This left 80% of the estate subject to the 55% estate tax. This resulted in a $30 million tax bill. If he had properly planned ahead, he could have used several avenues to reduce his tax bill. This could have included gifts, charitable giving, life insurance, and trusts.

Marlon Brando

Estate Value: $100 million

Date of Death: July 1, 2004

Marlon Brando’s housekeeper claimed he promised her his home when he passed. The issue was this was a supposed oral promise, there was no proof to legally enforce it. This subjected the estate to two lawsuits. It is important to put all wishes down in writing to make them enforceable.

Heath Ledger

Estate Value: $20 million

Date of Death: January 22, 2008

Heath Ledger failed to update his documents when his daughter was born. Instead, his estate was split 50/50 between his sisters and his parents. Thankfully, there was a lack of family turmoil, and his sisters and parents gifted the entire estate to this daughter.

Casey Kasem

Estate Value: $80 million

Date of Death: June 15, 2014

Casey Kasem had a Power of Attorney in place where he named his daughter and son-in-law as his agents. However, his current wife did not respect these documents and made decisions against his wishes. It is important you discuss your plan with your family ahead of time so you can iron out kinks and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Amy Winehouse

Estate Value: $4.6 million

Date of Death: July 23, 2011

Amy Winehouse was only 27 when she passed away. She had no estate planning documents in place. Because of this her full estate went to her parents. If she desired other beneficiaries to have her assets she would have needed to have estate planning documents.

Learning From Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes

You can learn from the celebrity estate planning mistakes of James Gandolfini, Marlon Brando, Heath Ledger, Casey Kasem, and Amy Winehouse. This means you should plan for taxes, put oral promises into writing, update estate planning documents after big life changes, make sure your family is on the same page, and do not put off creating estate planning documents.

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