Another Celebrity Estate Planning Failure

Another celebrity faulty estate planning nightmare is in the works. How can someone be worth millions of dollars and not have done a Last Will and Testament at some point. This should be a cautionary tale for all of you out there who keep procrastinating about having a basic estate plan prepared. At our law firm, we have been assisting clients throughout Western Pennsylvania with Wills, Durable Power of Attorneys, Trusts and Living Wills for over 20 years. To this day, we prepare simple Wills (5 to 7 pages) for our clients starting at just $75.00. Quit stalling and putting this off. It's a simple process and it will provide both you and your family with a tremendous amount of peace of mind.Another celebrity faulty estate planning nightmare in the works. How can someone be worth millions of dollars and not have done a Last Will and Testament at some point. This should be a cautionary tale for all of you out there who keep procrastinating about having a basic estate plan prepared. At American Wills & Estates we have been assisting our clients throughout Western Pennsylvania with the preparation and execution of estate plans including, but not limited to, Wills, Durable Power of Attorneys, Trusts and Living Wills for over 20 years. To this day, we prepare simple Wills (5 to 7 pages) for our clients starting at just $75.00. Quit stalling and putting protecting your family. It's a simple process and it will provide both you and your family with a tremendous amount of security and peace of mind.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/26/news/companies/prince-no-will/

Prince had no will, says his sister

by Lisa Respers France, Stephanie Elam, Jason Kravarik and Dave Goldman   @CNNMoneyApril 26, 2016: 3:01 PM ET
Prince's most memorable songs

Prince's sister has filed legal documents stating the late superstar did not have a will.

Tyka Nelson on Tuesday filed court documents to open a probate case in Minnesota's Carver County, which is where her brother's Paisley Park estate is located.

In the filing, she states that "I do not know of the existence of a Will and have no reason to believe that the Decedent executed testamentary documents in any form."

Prince was worth $300 million according to various estimates, including one from Celebrity Net Worth. And his estate is expected to grow as sales of his music have exploded since his death.

Tyka Nelson is the only full sibling of Prince, who died last week at the age of 57. Prince was not married and had no living children or parents who could potentially inherit the millions to come from his estate.

Related: Who gets Prince's millions?

The singer had a thriving brand, which included thousands of unreleased songs, a record label and his Paisley Park property.

Nelson and Prince also have half siblings, John Nelson, Norrine Nelson, Sharon Nelson, Alfred Jackson and Omar Baker, all of whom are also named in the petition as heirs.

Prince's sister has requested that a special administrator be appointed to deal with the singer's assets.

Without a will, Minnesota law states that his estate would go to his sister and his half-siblings. They would control his brand, including Prince's NPG record label and thousands of unreleased songs.

Celebrity estate transfers can be messy -- with or without a will. Potential heirs or beneficiaries sometimes come out of the woodwork to claim part of a dead celebritys' wealth.

A probate court judge will have to determine whether any such claims to Prince's estate are legitimate. Most probate court cases are open to the public, which means many of the details of Prince's estate could be aired out like dirty laundry. A judge could decide that the documents should be sealed.

Related: Prince had a legendary career of hit records and a tightly controlled brand

There's also a possibility that Prince did determine what he wanted to do with his estate in the event of his death -- and we just don't know what that plan was yet. He could have established a trust, which is an alternative to a will.

"Just because she thinks there's no will, doesn't mean there's no trust out there," said estate planner Danielle Mayoras, author of "Trial and Heirs," a book about highly publicized battles over celebrities' fortunes.

Presumably, by now a lawyer would have come forward if Prince had drafted a trust. But it has only been a few days since Prince's death, and anything can happen.

When Michael Jackson died in 2009, his mother, Katherine Jackson, filed a case in probate court to claim his estate. But while the case was ongoing, a lawyer for her son came forward with a trust that Michael had drafted years earlier.

CNNMoney (New York)First published April 26, 2016: 1:06 PM ET


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Attorney Welling received his undergraduate degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University in 1986 and his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 1992. He started the law firm of American Wills & Estates in 1997 and has practiced exclusively in the areas of Probate Estate Administration, Estate Planning and Real Estate law since that time. When not working, Lloyd can be found cheering on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates; golfing… badly, or walking his three rescue dogs up and down the hills of Mt. Washington.

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