Estate Planning Lessons You and Your Family Can Learn from Recent Celebrities
Estate Planning Lessons You and Your Family Can Learn from Recent Celebrities
Do you and your family have favorite celebrities that you enjoy watching or listening to news about? Do you follow their achievements, awards, family news and more? Are you and your family especially saddened when reading about your favorite celebrities passing away? Often, we can learn from celebrities about what to do and not do when it comes to estate planning and the impact of poor or no estate planning on grieving families. It can truly bring to light the impact of both good and inadequate estate planning.
An example of a very popular celebrity who passed away was Chadwick Boseman who starred as the Black Panther in the highly successful film of the same name and in the Avenger movies. Unfortunately, when he passed away he did not have an estate plan. Sadly, like Mr. Boseman, most Americans still do not have an estate plan and many believe it is something to do only later in life which is totally incorrect. According to the news, Mr. Boseman passed away “intestate” or without a will, so his family had to follow the laws outlined by the state he passed away in.
When you have a good South Carolina estate plan everyone will know how you want your assets distributed, your legacy to continue and will keep any arguments among family members from occurring. This was not the case with the great singer, Prince. When he passed away he did not have an estate plan in place that governed his assets and how he wanted those around him to inherit. Even now it is still reported that years later the fighting continues.
However, in contrast, the amazing Aretha Franklin did create an estate plan. Regrettably, though, she was reported to have over four wills. What was even worse was that not one of them was properly executed or completed. As a result her estate has lingered over four years and now the IRS must be paid millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.
You need to be aware that even the best estate plan can be challenged. We highly recommend that you work with a qualified South Carolina estate planning attorney when you create your South Carolina estate plan. When Robin Williams passed away he had a strong estate plan but, according to reports, his family still engaged in a five year legal battle over the assets within it.
So are there any estate planning lessons we learn from these celebrities? Absolutely! We can learn to protect ourselves and those around us and leave a legacy not just within our own family but in our community. We would like to share a few estate planning lessons with you right now:
- Be sure your family is protected by having a South Carolina estate plan in place
- Remember the probate process is public and can be both costly and time consuming
- Look into having a trust in place to possibly avoid probate
- Be aware that if there is uncertainty in your estate planning it could lead to further heartbreak for your loved ones
- Have health care planning in place so a person of your choosing may be able to make critical decisions for you in a crisis
- Have a decision maker with legal authority so that your family will not have to go to court to obtain a guardian or legal advocate
- With a thoughtful estate plan in place, you can create a legacy for your future goals, and a plan that will outlive you
- Be sure to have a trusted fiduciary in place to manage your wealth so it will not be wasted
- It is highly recommended that you have the guidance of an experienced South Carolina estate planning attorney who may help you pay much less in taxes
- Create a trust that could help manage the assets you have in multiple states
- Reduce the potential for fighting between family members with a South Carolina estate plan
- The most important lesson, be aware that a crisis can happen at any time and you need to plan forward now, while you are able to make decisions about what you want for the future
As you can see, there is much to learn from celebrity estate planning. We want to help you and your family answer your questions. We are your local, experienced, law firm! At Jabber & Isaac, we are dedicated to providing the best legal counsel in a caring and compassionate way. If you are looking for a premier law firm in the Midlands area of South Carolina, look no further than Jabber & Isaac. To learn more about our firm, we encourage you to contact us today to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our attorneys.
