What do Princess Di, Marlon Brando, Heath Ledger, Jimi Hendrix and former Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger have in common? They all flubbed their estate planning, costing intended heirs money and/or grief, according to a readable (really) estate planning how-to book, Trial & Heirs. The new book uses these celebrity cliffhanger cases to dish out real-life advice.The mistakes these folks made run the gamut. Jimi Hendrix died without a will, leaving his close brother Leon with nothing. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote his own will, which at 176 words left out basic tax clauses that could have saved $450,000 in estate taxes. Princess Di relied on a "letter of wishes" to give away belongings, and her godchildren got shortchanged.
"Everyday people can learn from these celebrity stories," says Andrew W. Mayoras, a probate litigator who wrote the book with his wife, Danielle B. Mayoras, an estate lawyer. "The cases are different only in terms of dollars and notoriety from the issues I see in my practice," he adds.
Source:
Amazon: Trial & Heirs
3 comments:
You can do everything right and still have a mess. Guardianship is proof of that.
Those persons who have a lot of wealth or earn a lot of wealth should be afraid of guardianship.
The best advice? If you have personal items that you want people to have, give the items to them, and then have a good time and spend your money.
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