Remind Me Why I Need a Will

There are a number of reasons to draft a will as soon as possible. If you die without a will (intestate), you leave decisions up to your state of residence according to its probate and intestacy laws. Without a will, you have no say as to who receives your assets or properties. Not having a will could also make it difficult for your family.

Legal Reader’s recent article entitled “Top 7 Reasons to Fill Out a Will” reminds us that, before it is too late, consider these reasons why a will is essential.

Avoid Family Disputes. This process occasionally will lead to disagreements among family members, if there’s no will or your wishes aren’t clear. A contested will can be damaging to relationships within your family and can be costly.

Avoid Costly and Lengthy Probate. A will expedites the probate process and tells the court the way in which you want your estate to be divided. Without a will, the court will decide how your estate will be divided, which can lead to unnecessary delays.

Deciding What Happens to Your Assets. A will is the only way you can state exactly to whom you want your assets to be given. Without a will, the court will decide.

Designating a Guardian for Your Children. Without a will, the court will determine who will take care of your minor children.

Eliminate Stress for Your Family. Most estates must go to probate court to start the process. However, if you have no will, the process can be complicated. The court must name personal representatives to administer your estate.

Protect Your Business. A will allows you to pass your business to your co-owners or heirs.

Provide A Home For Your Pets. If you have a will, you can make certain that someone will care for your pets if you die. The law considers pets as properties, so you are prohibited from leaving assets to your pets in your will. However, you can name beneficiaries for your pets, leaving them to a trusted person, and you can name people to serve as guardians of your pets and leave them funds to meet their needs.

Drafting a will with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney can give you and your family peace of mind and convenience in the future.

Reference: Legal Reader (Jan. 28, 2021) “Top 7 Reasons to Fill Out a Will”

Dr. Seuss’ Controversy Impact on Estate?

It may surprise you to know exactly how profitable the estate of Dr. Seuss continues to be. Eighty years after the publication of his first children’s book — “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” which is among the works being discontinued — the author’s collection still makes a whole lot of money, says The Wealth Advisor’s recent article entitled “How Dr. Seuss became the second highest-paid dead celebrity.”

Forbes.com’s annual inventory of the highest-paid dead celebrities, Theodor Geisel —AKA “Dr. Seuss”— ranks second, only trailing Michael Jackson. The Seuss empire raked in earnings last year of $33 million. In other words, the Vipper of Vipp, Flummox and Fox in Sox generated a bushel-full of dough in 2020.

Add to this, the fact that because of the news that six of his 60+ books will no longer be published, buyers are scrambling to purchase his back catalog. This means more money for the good doctor, as evidenced by the fact that recently nine of the top 10 spots on Amazon’s best-sellers list were occupied by Dr. Seuss, including classics “The Cat in the Hat,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”

The answer to how Dr. Suess’ estate has maintained a $33 million fortune 30 years after his death, is that it’s his wife’s doing. Geisel died in 1991 at the age of 87. Two years after that, Audrey Geisel, founded Dr. Seuss Enterprises to handle licensing and film deals for her husband’s work.

She passed away in 2018, but Dr. Seuss Enterprises is still going strong. It’s shrewdly built the Seuss brand with kids’ merchandise and several television and film projects, notably the animated “Green Eggs and Ham” series, which debuted on Netflix in 2019, starring Michael Douglas, Keegan-Michael Key and Diane Keaton.

Past Seuss projects include Jim Carrey’s “The Grinch” in 2000; Mike Myers’s mediocre “The Cat in the Hat” in 2003, “Horton Hears a Who!” in 2008; not to mention the 2001 Broadway bomb “Seussical.”

Reference: The Wealth Advisor (March 9, 2021) “How Dr. Seuss became the second highest-paid dead celebrity”

The Latest on the Denver Broncos and Late Owner Pat Bowlen’s Trust

The Denver Post’s recent article entitled “Broncos ask Denver County District Court to confirm right-of-first-refusal is terminated” says that the battle over the Denver Broncos football team is far from over, and what Pat Bowlen intended in his trust may not come to pass.

After Pat Bowlen died in 2019 at age 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, his two oldest daughters placed themselves at risk of being disinherited by challenging their father’s trust. The trust is tasked with choosing the next controlling owner of the Denver Broncos, a pro football franchise valued at more than $2.5 billion.

“This lawsuit is a proactive, necessary step to ensure an efficient transition of ownership, whether the team remains in the Bowlen family or is sold,” long-time Bowlen attorney Dan Reilly said in a statement. “We are confident that the court will find the right of first refusal is no longer enforceable, consistent with Colorado law and the intentions of Pat Bowlen and Edgar Kaiser in their written agreement more than 36 years ago.”

So, if the Broncos’ next controlling owner is Pat’s daughter Brittany, the preferred choice of the trustees, or if the team is sold to an outside buyer, they should be able to move forward without interference from Kaiser’s camp. Kaiser died in January 2012.

Even if this lawsuit drags on, it will not cause a delay in the Arapahoe County District Court battle between Bowlen’s daughters Beth Bowlen Wallace and Amie Klemmer and the trustees who want to invalidate the 2009 trust on the grounds that Pat did not have the capacity to sign his estate-planning documents.

This part of the Broncos ownership soap opera began in May 2020, when an attorney sent the Broncos counsel a letter stating that his client be sent “notice,” if the team named a new controlling owner or was sold. When Kaiser sold 60.8% of the Broncos to Bowlen in 1984, a right of first refusal was included in the agreement. A year later, Bowlen bought the other 39.2% from John Adams and Tim Borden for $20 million.

In 1998, Bowlen offered retired quarterback John Elway the chance to buy 10% of the team for $15 million. However, Kaiser opposed, saying Bowlen had to offer any piece of the Broncos to him before he offered it to another party. The courts ruled in Bowlen’s favor, even though Elway didn’t take him up on the offer. The court said the right of first refusal only applied to the 60.8% ownership interest that Pat purchased from Kaiser. However, Pat’s win didn’t totally eliminate the right of first refusal, which gave Kaiser 14 days to decide whether to buy the team if Bowlen found a buyer.

Reference: Denver Post (Jan. 26, 2021) “Broncos ask Denver County District Court to confirm right-of-first-refusal is terminated”

Sound Like a Broken Record in Estate Planning?

After a year like the last, estate planning attorneys may sound like a broken record, repeating their message over and over again: No matter your age, wealth, or familial structure, you should have a last will and testament, powers of attorney and a health care proxy.

Everyone needs these documents, to protect wealth, children, spouses, family and yourself.

Wealth Advisor’s recent article entitled “2020 Concludes With Intestate Celebrity Estates” says that the execution of legal documents does have a financial cost. This can keep some people from talking to an experienced estate planning attorney. Others say they are simply too busy to take care of the matter, so they delay. There are other people don’t want to talk about issues of sickness and mortality because they just can’t bring themselves to think about these important estate planning documents.

It doesn’t matter who you are, these types of issues are seen with all kinds of people. Recently, we’ve learned that several celebrities died intestate or without a last will and testament. For example, Argentinian soccer great Diego Armando Maradona died in November at the age of 60. He had a fortune including real estate, financial assets and jewelry, but his life was filled with drama. Diego fathered eight children from six different partners but signed no last will and testament. Fighting among his many heirs is expected, especially with his large estate. Diego said publicly that he wanted to donate his entire estate and not leave his children anything. However, he died of a heart attack before putting this plan in place. Therefore his next-of-kin, not the charities, received his assets.

Another notable person who died intestate recently is former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who died at age 46. His estate is valued at $840 million. Hsieh was survived by his two brothers and his parents. He recently purchased eight houses in Park City, Utah, so this purchase of real estate across state lines will make the administration of his estate even more complicated without a last will and testament or a trust.

Finally, actor Chadwick Boseman died intestate at age 43, after a long battle with colon cancer. His wife, Simone Ledward, petitioned the California courts to be named the administrator of his estate. The couple married in early 2020. As a result, she was qualified to administer and receive from his estate. He had no children, so under California probate law, she gets the entire estate.

These recent deaths of three celebrities, none of whom were elderly, show the need for individuals of all ages, backgrounds and wealth to address their estate plans and not put it off.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (Jan. 19, 2020) “2020 Concludes With Intestate Celebrity Estates”

Would Life Estate Have an Impact Taxes on an Inherited Home?

Nj.com’s recent article entitled “My mom added us to her deed and then died. Do we owe taxes?” explains that assuming mom retained an interest in the house or lived in the house after putting her children’s names on the deed, the IRS considers the property to be part of the taxable estate of the mother.

That is a critical point, when it comes to the amount of tax the children may have to pay.

She most likely kept a “life estate” in the home. This is where a person owns the property only through the duration of their lifetime. It is called “a tenant for life” or a “life tenant.”

A life estate is a restriction on the property because it prevents the beneficiary (usually the children) from selling the property that produces the income before the beneficiary’s death.

When the mom passes away, the life estate automatically stops and the children now have all of the rights associated with the property. As to income tax, when the parent dies, the property receives a “step up” in basis to the date of death value.

If the mom in our example had a life estate, the children would receive a “step up” in basis to the fair market value of the property on the date of death.

That means that the capital gain that would be taxed to the children would be the difference between the fair market value of the property when their mother died and the net proceeds of the sale.

Retaining the life estate can help a child avoid the capital gains tax more effectively than a simple transfer of the property outright to the child.

Talk to an experienced estate planning attorney about life estates and taxes, when you inherit a home.

Reference: nj.com (Feb. 18, 2021) “My mom added us to her deed and then died. Do we owe taxes?”

Estate of Charles Schulz Still Making Money

Charles Schulz’s estate made $32.5 million in the past year. That placed third on the list of the highest-paid dead celebrities. Michael Jackson is number one and fellow cartoonist Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Seuss is number two.

Some of Schulz’s income is from the new Apple TV+ show “Snoopy in Space,” as well as classics like “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Wealth Advisor’s recent article “Decades After His Death The Estate Of Charles Schulz Is Still Making A TON Of Money” reports the Peanuts creator is consistently one of the highest-earning dead celebrities. Schulz himself is thought to have earned more than $1 billion during the comic strip’s unprecedented 50-year run.

Schulz was born in 1922 in Minneapolis. He knew he wanted to be a cartoonist in kindergarten when he started drawing Popeye. By high school, he was submitting his original cartoons to his school paper, as well as local magazines. After his service in Europe during World War II, Schulz created a cartoon called “Li’l Folks” for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. His cartoons were noticed by United Feature Syndicate, a newspaper syndication company. They offered to syndicate Schulz’s cartoons to their national network of newspapers with one condition: they wanted him to change the name of his comic strip to Peanuts. Schulz hated that, but United Feature Syndicate was already running a comic with a very similar name, and this wasn’t an opportunity he could pass up.

The first Peanuts cartoon ran in 1950, when Schulz was 28 years old. That first year, just seven newspapers ran Peanuts. However, by 1953, Peanuts was a hit, and Schulz was earning $30,000 a year (about $292,000 today). At its zenith, Peanuts was syndicated to more than 2,600 newspapers in 71 countries and 21 languages every day. The comic strip characters also made a fortune with merchandise and endorsements. In the 1980s, Schulz was the highest-paid celebrity in the world by a wide margin. He made $30 million in royalties (about $65 million today). From 1990 until his death in 2000, he earned $40 million a year.

Over nearly 50 years, Schulz drew 17,897 published Peanuts strips. The last of his cartoons was published on Feb. 12, 2000, one day after he died. Remarkably, Schulz wrote and drew every single comic himself. When he died, his will said that no new Peanuts comic strips could be drawn by another cartoonist. So far, his wishes have been honored.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (Dec. 8, 2020) “Decades After His Death The Estate Of Charles Schulz Is Still Making A TON Of Money”

Who Makes Money from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

The heartwarming drama is fictional, even though the two writers did once meet, says The Express in its recent article entitled “Roald Dahl inheritance: Who is raking in fortunes made from Dahl books & films?”

Roald was a mere lad and Beatrix was in her 60s, when the two authors briefly met one another. Dahl’s books and films are classics and are constantly being revamped and reimagined 30 years after his death.

But with Roald no longer around, who gets the money from his books and films? Roald died in 1990 at age 74 and was believed to have a net worth of $10 million.

The lion’s share of his income from films, books and merchandise is managed by his estate.

The latest data from Roald Dahl’s estate shows annual pre-tax profits of about $17 million in 2018.

This income is from television and film deals, royalties, fancy-dress costumes and a line of baby toiletries.

After Roald’s death, his widow Felicity inherited the majority of the $3.75 million he left in his will. This is worth nearly $6.75 million in today’s dollars.

Every year, fans commemorate Roald Dahl Day to celebrate his stories and their characters. Held on the anniversary of his birth—September 13—his books, films and characters are celebrated.

The author spent four hours every day writing stories from his garden shed. In all, Roald wrote at least 36 books, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Twits and Fantastic Mr Fox. His works continue to be popular for film and stage adaptations.

A new version of The Witches, starring Anne Hathaway, was released earlier this year, while Hollywood stars including Johnny Depp, Mark Rylance and Danny DeVito have all appeared in film versions of his stories.

Reference: The Express (UK) (Dec. 12, 2020) “Roald Dahl inheritance: Who is raking in fortunes made from Dahl books & films?”

Taking a look at Estate of Late Soccer Star Diego Maradona

Similar to soccer star Diego Maradona’s life, the inheritance process is likely to be a mess with his big family that includes eight children from six different partners as heirs to his assets, plus his intangible heritage.

Reuters’ recent article entitled “Image rights, fast cars and a ‘tank’: Maradona’s death triggers complex inheritance” explains that Maradona, who died recently at 60 from cardiac arrest, had four children in Argentina, one in Italy, and three in Cuba, when he went there for treatment to recover from his addictions, his lawyer Matías Morla said.

“In the specific case of Maradona, he is divorced and has eight children, so the estate is divided by eight in an inheritance trial,” Buenos Aires-based soccer lawyer Martín Apolo told Reuters. “It will be a complex process.”

The probate process can last 90 days in a normal case. However, Apolo said it could be much longer with the prospect of “internal disputes” and opportunists seeking a payout from Maradona’s estate. The estate of the World Cup champion, who at the time of his death was coach of the Argentine club Gimnasia y Esgrima, includes properties, cars, investments and jewels that he was given throughout his career. He played and coached in Argentina, Spain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus and Mexico.

There is no established value of Diego Maradona’s fortune. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his net worth at the time of his death at $500,000 but said he had earned millions during his career from contracts with the different teams and sponsorship with brands, such as Coca-Cola.

Called “Dios” for his godlike skills on the soccer pitch and “Pelusa” for his prominent mane of hair. Maradona will be valuable for his image, even after death.

“The most important patrimony here could be the image rights, and also all his shirts,” said Apolo. “How much is the one he used in the World Cup final worth? How much could you pay at auction?”

The soccer star’s family has been through several legal battles in recent years, including a trial with his ex-partner Claudia Villafañe for tax evasion, procedural fraud and misappropriation of 458 objects from his past as a soccer player. However, Maradona’s family has asked for unity in the recent weeks before his death, after he underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot, from which he was recovering when he died.

Reference: Reuters (Nov. 27, 2020) “Image rights, fast cars and a ‘tank’: Maradona’s death triggers complex inheritance”

Is the Pandemic Motivating People to Do Estate Planning?

A survey from Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace, found that most people (60.4%) didn’t have a will, but that may be about to change. Nearly 40% of survey respondents (39.7%) said they feel it’s more important to get a will because of the pandemic.

PR Newswire’s recent article entitled “Policygenius survey finds Americans with misconceptions about estate planning” reports that many respondents also held misconceptions about the estate planning process, which may a reason they avoid it.

The survey found that more than one in five respondents (22.8%) who think getting a will is too expensive overestimated the cost by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

A total of 48.2% incorrectly thought that their possessions would automatically pass to their spouse, if they died without a will. That may suggest that people may not be creating wills because they think they don’t need them.

There were 24.1% respondents who said that they don’t have a will because they haven’t had time to put one together, and more than half of those respondents (62%) were parents.

The survey also found that respondents prioritized family, with more than a third of them (35.9%) saying that having a child is the most important life event for someone, if they want to create a will. About two-thirds (65.5%) said that making the process of inheritance as easy as possible is one of their top three important issues, when getting a will.

Just 39.3% knew that if someone passes away without a will, a court will determine who gets their assets.

The Policygenius survey is based on responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,689 Americans ages 25 and over. It was conducted by SurveyMonkey from July 16 through July 17, 2020.

Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about a will and a comprehensive estate plan.

Reference: PR Newswire (Dec. 2, 2020) “Policygenius survey finds Americans with misconceptions about estate planning”

What’s Going on with the Estate of Kenny Rogers?

TMZ reported that the estate of the late Kenny Rogers alleged that Kelly Junkermann convinced the country and pop singer to allow him to film his last tour.

Kenny supposedly agreed but did so under the strict condition that the footage be only for personal use.

Rogers’ estate now says that Junkermann disregarded that agreement and attempted to commercially release a DVD called “Kenny Rogers — The Gambler’s Last Deal.”

Wealth Advisor’s recent article entitled “Kenny Rogers estates sues longtime friend over unauthorized tour DVD” reports that the lawsuit states that Junkermann consistently asked for approval to use the content he’d collected but was always denied.

Regardless of this rejection, he moved forward and inked a deal to distribute the footage.

The lawsuit states that the tour footage is filled with “priceless and irreplaceable audio, video, photographic and audiovisual content that were compiled over the course of Kenny Rogers’ decades-long career.”

One of the reasons the estate wants Junkermann’s DVD blocked, is that it has its own DVD of the final tour and doesn’t want fans to be confused. The estate also says that Junkermann’s DVD isn’t up to Kenny’s high standards.

TMZ reported that the estate blocked the release of Junkermann’s DVD earlier in 2020, but it cost nearly $300,000 in legal fees to be accomplished.

The Rogers estate is formally suing for damages and for an injunction blocking the DVD from Junkermann from ever coming out.

The country music icon, who passed away in March at age 81, announced his Gambler’s Last Deal Tour in 2015 and completed it two years later. Officially, the star’s last show was in October 2017 at a star-studded farewell concert in Nashville. However, he played a few shows after that, until he canceled all remaining performances after April 2018.

Junkermann’s DVD was actually set for presale in late 2019, but links to online vendors and video trailers are no longer working.

Junkermann also had a forward written for the package.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (Dec. 1, 2020) “Kenny Rogers estates sues longtime friend over unauthorized tour DVD”

Estate Planning Blog Articles

Estate & Business Planning Law Firm Serving the Providence & Cranston, RI Areas

Remind Me Why I Need a Will

Dr. Seuss’ Controversy Impact on Estate?

The Latest on the Denver Broncos and Late Owner Pat Bowlen’s Trust

Sound Like a Broken Record in Estate Planning?

Would Life Estate Have an Impact Taxes on an Inherited Home?

Estate of Charles Schulz Still Making Money

Who Makes Money from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Taking a look at Estate of Late Soccer Star Diego Maradona

Is the Pandemic Motivating People to Do Estate Planning?

What’s Going on with the Estate of Kenny Rogers?

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Remind Me Why I Need a Will

Dr. Seuss’ Controversy Impact on Estate?

The Latest on the Denver Broncos and Late Owner Pat Bowlen’s Trust

Sound Like a Broken Record in Estate Planning?

Would Life Estate Have an Impact Taxes on an Inherited Home?

Estate of Charles Schulz Still Making Money

Who Makes Money from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Taking a look at Estate of Late Soccer Star Diego Maradona

Is the Pandemic Motivating People to Do Estate Planning?

What’s Going on with the Estate of Kenny Rogers?

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