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Well-Played: Country Legend Toby Keith’s Legacy Protected for His Family

Toby Keith, the famous country singer, passed away at the age of 62 after battling stomach cancer. Despite his illness, he ensured that his estate was in order before his death. In a story shared by InTouchWeekly and Survivornet, his widow, Tricia Covel, filed to be named the administrator of his estate shortly after his passing. Keith’s estate planning included a revocable living trust meant to ensure his family’s privacy and financial security.

Why Should You Plan Your Estate Early?

Planning your estate early helps reduce stress on your family during an already emotional time. When someone passes away, emotions run high, and conflicts can arise. Having a clear plan makes it easier for your family to follow your wishes without added stress or uncertainty.

What are the Key Documents in Estate Planning?

There are several critical documents to consider when planning your estate, especially if you are dealing with a serious illness like Toby Keith did:

  • Power of Attorney: This allows someone you trust to make legal, tax and financial decisions for you if you cannot do so.
  • Health Care Proxy: This person will make health-related decisions on your behalf.
  • HIPAA Release: This lets someone access your medical information and speak to your doctors.
  • Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST): This outlines your wishes for life support.
  • Beneficiary Designation: This document names the beneficiaries of your life insurance and retirement assets.
  • Living Will: This states your health care wishes.
  • Will: This specifies how you want your assets distributed.

How Did Toby Keith Use a Revocable Living Trust?

Toby Keith’s estate planning included a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust is a legal document that places your assets into a trust while you’re alive and allows you to make changes as needed. After your death, the trust becomes irrevocable, meaning it can’t be altered. This type of trust helps avoid probate court, making the process smoother and quicker for your family.

Should You Consider a Trust?

A revocable living trust might be a good option if you have significant assets, such as property or investments. Trusts offer more control over how your assets are distributed and can help avoid lengthy probate processes. Toby Keith’s trust ensured that his family could manage his estate privately and securely without the public scrutiny of a probate court.

What can You Learn from Toby Keith’s Trust?

Toby Keith’s careful planning illustrates the importance of addressing your estate needs early, especially when facing a serious illness. He documented his wishes and ensured they were legally binding, providing his family with clear instructions and avoiding potential disputes. Keith protected his legacy and provided for his family’s future by taking these steps.

How can You Start Planning Your Estate?

Starting your estate planning might seem overwhelming. However, protecting your loved ones and your legacy is essential. Here are a few steps to get started:

  • Make a List of Your Assets: Include everything from bank accounts to property.
  • Decide on Your Beneficiaries: Think about who you want to inherit your assets.
  • Choose Your Representatives: Select people you trust to act on your behalf, such as a power of attorney, health care proxy and executor.
  • Consult with an Estate Planning Attorney: An attorney can help you navigate the legal requirements and ensure that your documents are in order.

Take Inspiration From Toby Keith’s Trust and Secure Your Legacy

Contact our law firm today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how a revocable living trust and other estate planning tools can protect your family’s future. By taking action now, you can ensure that your wishes are honored and provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.

Key Takeaways

  • Early Planning Reduces Stress: Addressing estate planning early can ease emotional and financial burdens on your family.
  • Essential Documents: Key documents include a power of attorney, health care proxy, living will and revocable living trust.
  • Privacy and Control: A revocable living trust helps maintain privacy and avoids the public process of probate court.
  • Toby Keith’s Example: Toby Keith’s thorough planning ensured his family’s security and upheld his wishes.
  • Professional Guidance: Consulting with an estate planning attorney is crucial for navigating legal complexities and securing your legacy.

References: InTouchWeekly (July 9, 2024) “Toby Keith Drafted Will for $400 Million Fortune Amid Cancer Battle | In Touch Weekly” and Survivornet (July 15, 2024) “Distributing Fortune & Legacy: Late Country Star Toby Keith’s Estate and the Sensitive Issue of Planning Your Will as a Patient”

Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

It’s hard to miss the major mistakes celebrities make—their lives and deaths are public and not always pretty. Expensive mistakes on a grand scale aren’t what most of us deal with, but there are good lessons to learn from their mistakes, says a recent article from Market Watch, “Sharon Stone’s missing $18 million, Prince’s estate back in court: what to learn from celebrity estate mistakes.”

Eight years after Prince’s death, his estate is back in court, while Sharon Stone was in the news when she revealed $18 million in savings disappeared while she suffered a life-threatening illness more than two decades ago. For conservatorship stories, while we aren’t hearing much about Britney Spears anymore, Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship for his wife Mavis, who has dementia, and musical legend Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys faced conservatorship issues when his caretaker wife died, and another caretaker had to be named.

We expect people with great professional success to be surrounded by a small army of trusted caretakers, estate planning attorneys, accountants, managers, and others. And we’d also expect them to want to keep as much of their lives private as possible. But as headlines show, people who are incredibly talented performers aren’t necessarily skilled in the legal and business aspects of their lives.

In 2001, Sharon Stone suffered a stroke. It took seven years for her to overcome the effects of the stroke, and she counted on others to manage her affairs. When she was finally able to start taking control of her life, she found everything had been put into someone else’s name, and $18 million was missing from her bank account.

While she’s not forthcoming with details, this was likely a trusted person abusing their role as Power of Attorney, where a fiduciary was appointed without enough oversight. For regular people, an estate planning attorney could create a plan where, in addition to a Power of Attorney for certain accounts, like running the household, more considerable assets are placed in a trust, and the trustee is not the same person as the POA. Checks and balances need to be built into an estate plan to protect individuals in case of incapacity.

In cases where the fiduciary has performed poorly, and a family member challenges the results, the results are common. When the court reviews the matter, changes can be made to appoint another person to the POA. Courts can also step in to take over another person’s finances, but it usually doesn’t happen until after significant damage has been done.

A meeting with an estate planning attorney should include discussions about who is qualified to serve as a Power of Attorney and how their actions may be reviewed. In many instances, trust is not the issue, but competence is. Are they capable of managing the affairs of an incapacitated person? If not, another person should be selected, regardless of whose feelings might be hurt by the decision.

Reference: Market Watch (July 13, 2024) “Sharon Stone’s missing $18 million, Prince’s estate back in court: what to learn from celebrity estate mistakes”

Elvis Presley’s Estate Planning Mistakes: Lessons for Us All

Even the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll wasn’t immune to estate planning mistakes. Elvis Presley passed away in 1977 with a net worth of around $5 million. Nevertheless, poor estate planning resulted in significant financial challenges for his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who inherited the estate at age 25. Unfortunately, the saga of estate mismanagement continued with Lisa Marie’s untimely death in January 2023. This article examines the lessons we can learn from these oversights.

Why Did Elvis’s Estate Plan Fail?

Over-Reliance on a Will

Elvis relied on a basic will instead of a more comprehensive estate plan, such as a trust. While wills provide instructions for asset distribution, they don’t protect beneficiaries from probate. This led to significant legal costs and delays, reducing the estate’s value. Furthermore, only a fraction of his estate remained after creditors, unscrupulous business partners and the IRS took their share. Kiplinger details how these mistakes haunted his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.

Excessive Spending

Elvis was generous and free spending. However, his estate planning didn’t account for this. As a result, much of his inheritance went to creditors rather than his daughter. However, creditors weren’t the only ones claiming what Elvis left behind. The most significant loss was to the IRS, which claimed that the estate tax was worth double the value of Elvis’ estate.

Trusting the Wrong People

Elvis trusted Thomas Parker, better known as Colonel Parker, with business management.  However, Parker was a Dutch illegal immigrant with a history of mental instability. The Army discharged him following a “psychotic breakdown,” and he had only served as a private. Parker’s business deal entitled him to 50% of Elvis’ profits and enabled him to sell Elvis’ song catalog. He kept most of the profits, depriving the family of any royalties.

Lack of Estate Planning

Between the IRS, creditors and Parker, the woes Elvis left his loved ones have one thing in common: They were avoidable estate planning mistakes. While few people trust their will to Colonel Parker, many leave behind a will that doesn’t protect their loved ones. Advanced estate planning strategies, such as the creation of trusts, are much more reliable than a simple will.

Can You Avoid Similar Estate Planning Mistakes?

A will is better than nothing, but it’s only the start. Develop a comprehensive estate plan that includes a trust and a power of attorney, and follow these steps:

  • Plan for Estate Taxes: Many ways exist to reduce estate taxes. Consider strategies like gifting assets and establishing trusts.
  • Maintain Liquidity: Set aside liquid assets to cover immediate family needs and creditor expenses.
  • Regularly Review and Update Plans: Life changes, and your estate plan should too. Ensure that your estate is set up to provide your loved ones with what you wish for them.
  • Consult with a Reputable Estate Advisor: Estate law is complex. Consulting with an estate planning professional can help you avoid Elvis’ mistakes.

Take Action to Avoid Estate Planning Mistakes

Don’t let your loved ones face unnecessary financial difficulties. Develop a comprehensive estate plan with the help of our estate planning attorneys.

Key Takeaways

  • Elvis Presley’s Estate Planning Mistakes: Elvis relied on a basic will and trusted people he shouldn’t. Consequently, his wife Priscilla and his daughter Lisa Marie Presley only received a fraction of his estate. If the King of Rock ‘N Roll needed a thorough estate plan, we all do.
  • Avoid Estate Planning Pitfalls: A comprehensive plan centered on trusts to protect your loved ones avoids many common mistakes.
  • Contact a Trustworthy Professional: Elvis’ business partners sold many of his assets for personal benefit. Rely on a reputable estate planning attorney to give your family the best opportunities.

Reference: Kiplinger (May 17, 2023) “Five Estate Planning Lessons We Can Learn From Elvis’ Mistakes”

What Is the Latest on Picasso’s Estate?

Claude Ruiz Picasso, Pablo Picasso’s youngest son, has died at the age of 76.

The Art Newspaper’s recent article, “Claude Ruiz Picasso, the artist’s son and manager of the Picasso estate, has died,” reports that as the long-term manager of his father’s estate, Claude was the holder of the Picasso copyright. He was also instrumental in organizing Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, a compendium of 50 exhibitions of Picasso’s work, shown in cultural institutions across Europe and the US over the course of 2023 to mark 50 years since Pablo Picasso’s death.

Claude transferred management of the estate in July of this year to Paloma Ruiz Picasso, his younger sister. He was originally appointed by a court as the administrator of the Picasso estate in 1989. The Picasso estate remains one of the most valuable collections in the art world, numbering around 45,000 pieces. At the time of Pablo Picasso’s death in 1973, the estate was estimated to be worth $817m.

In the commercial art world, art is frequently subject to forgery, fake usage, and criminal trading. In the copyright and trademark sectors, the Picasso estate has often set legal precedents regarding its willingness to pursue legal action against counterfeit, illegal reproduction, and forgery cases to protect the artist’s legacy.

Claude was the son of Pablo and the French painter Françoise Gilot, who also died in June of this year at the age of 101. Gilot is often known as the only woman who left him. Pablo tried to legally stop her, 40 years his junior, from publishing a memoir of her life that detailed her experience of being in a relationship with him, including testimonies of abuse, including an occasion when he held a lit cigarette against her cheek. The book was eventually published in 1964.

Pablo severed contact with both Claude and Paloma after the book’s publication and never contacted them again.

Before he was appointed the manager of the Picasso estate, Claude was an artist in his own right. Living in New York, he worked briefly as an assistant to the photographer Richard Avedon before seeing his own photographs published in fashion magazines, including Vogue and Time Life.

Reference: The Art Newspaper (Aug. 25, 2023) “Claude Ruiz Picasso, the artist’s son and manager of the Picasso estate, has died”

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