Celebrity Estate Lessons – Sonny Bono
Celebrity Estate Lessons Sonny Bono Sadly, when it came to his estate plan, Sonny Bono did not have his, babe. He died unexpectedly in 1998 in a ski accident. He may have had flowers in the spring, but he didn’t have a Will. Dying intestate (fancy lawyer word for without a Will) opened his […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons – Liliane Bettencourt
It’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of Liliane Bettencourt, but I’d bet you’ve heard of L’Oreal, the company she ran. If you have heard of her, it’s likely because she was, at one time, the world’s richest woman. Or from the well publicized “Bettencourt Affair.” The legal filings over her estate began in 2007, […]
Celebrity Estate Lesson Ivana Trump
Ivana Trump was probably best known as the first wife of Donald Trump and mother of Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump. But the breakup between her and her ex-husband was anything but amicable. So, when she passed in July 2022, there wasn’t much of a question about whether or not he’d get any of […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons – Aaron Hernandez
Aaron Hernandez was a promising up-and-coming tight end in the NFL. After graduating from UF, he went on to play with the New England Patriots from 2010-2012. He was arrested in June 2013 for the murder of Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancée’s sister. In a change from the norm, the issues in the […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons – Amy Winehouse
It’s always sad when a public figure dies very young and it often means they didn’t take the time to plan for their passing. After all, they’re going to live forever, right? When Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 in 2011, initial reports stated that not only had she written a Will, but […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons – Marilyn Monroe
If you’re like me, you remember the moving Super Bowl commercial that allowed Christopher Reeve to walk again. You might also remember the hub-bub surrounding the hologram of Tupac joining Dr. Dre onstage at Coachella in 2012. With the continuing advancements in technology, it’s no longer enough to worry about protecting one’s estate after death, […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons – Burt Reynolds
No one wants to be disinherited in their parent’s Will, especially if that parent is a celebrity. However, that’s exactly what happened to Burt Reynolds’ son. Reynolds was married to his second wife, Loni Anderson, when they adopted their son Quinton. He and Anderson divorced in 1994. This is often the recipe for disinheritance. However, that […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons David Bowie
Compared to some of our past celebrities, David Bowie didn’t do a bad job with his estate plan. He provided for his wife and children, even taking into account what would happen when his wife died. However, there are some things he could have done to better protect his children down the road. One problem […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons Tina Turner
It was a sad day when Tina Turner died on May 24, 2023. But, it gives us a chance to look at an inheritance in real time. Tina Turner knew for some years that she was suffering from life threatening illnesses, including high blood pressure, kidney damage, and intestinal cancer. She also had a […]
Celebrity Estate Lessons Lucille Ball
While getting a big, fat inheritance check is likely appreciated by your beneficiaries, often it’s the family heirlooms that are more important. This was the case with Lucille Ball. When she died in 1989, she split her estate between her two children, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr., and her second husband, Gary […]