I say and write that repeatedly when speaking with new clients, current clients, friends or the public when presenting seminars or information sessions.  So why do we not think that celebrities don’t have a Will?  Of course they do.

Celebrity Wills range from the complex, think Michael Jackson, to non-existent, Amy Winehouse or, (would you believe it?) Abraham Lincoln (who coincidentally was a lawyer himself).

In this series I take a look at the Wills of the famous, starting with the sad and recent departure of Robin Williams.

Robin McLaurin Williams died on 11^th August 2014 aged 63 after a long history with depression. Williams started as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and rose to fame as Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy.  Other notable films include Popeye (1980), war comedy Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), drama Dead Poets Society (1989), the animated musical fantasy Aladdin (1992) and Good Will Hunting (1997).

In 1998, Williams won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Good Will Hunting.

Ordinarily, after the death of such a talent movie producers, studio and television executives clamour to re-issue old footage, found footage and new footage for a quick buck.  Not so with Williams.

In a unique legal move, Williams has banned the use of his appearance for a period of 25 years after his death.  Though not strictly speaking, comprising part of his Last Will and Testament, Williams transferred, upon his death, all rights to his identity – name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness and right of privacy/publicity – to a not for profit organisation the Windfall Foundation and cannot be used until 2039.

A Trust was created that controlled Williams’ identity with the man in sole control of that Trust, it was the innovative thinking to hard-wire a transfer of his identity and control of the Trust upon his death that has not yet been seen and may pave the way for other celebrities to follow suit and preserve their greatest asset and benefit charitable institutions.

It is thought that the Trust was created, not long before his death, in such a way to avoid potential significant taxation problems associated with deceased estates.  It is taxation, including significant penalties totalling US$700 Million facing the estate of the late Michael Jackson that continues to cripple what might have been a substantial benefit, rather than noose, for his children.

Williams left behind a widow and 3 children, Zelda, Zachary and Cody.

Taxation considerations are ever present when considering how to construct and draw your Will.  Will drafters must sometimes think outside the box to pre-emptively avoid problems before they arise.

Good advice from experts in the field who remain up to date on legislative changes and drafting trends remains critical to establishing an effective and thorough estate plan.

Come and visit Jason Coluccio or myself, Greg Welden, at our office in Prospect to discuss your estate plan and how we might assist you or answer your questions.

Take a look at the original Trust Deed here.

Download our Wills Brochure here.

Riley B. “B.B.” King died on 14 May 2015 at the age of 89 and was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. King introduced a unique style of solo guitar and heavily influenced many later electric blues guitarists.

B.B. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 having earned the nickname “The King of the Blues”.  Until well intohis 70’s, he performed, on average, at more than 200 concerts per year.

In 1956, he appeared in 342 shows.

Some may only recall a single memorable song when he collaborated with U2 in 1988 to play guitar and sing on “When Loves Comes to Town”.

B.B. King was married twice but bore no children to either marriage.  However, he estimated that he had 15 adopted and natural children to 15 different women.  To some extent King tried to take care of his children.  According to CNN, he set up a multimillion dollar education fund for his descendants.  In his memoir he wrote that every time a woman came to him and said a child was his, he assumed responsibility without argument.

The Will

The Will places B.B. King’s long time business manager in sole charge of administering his assets, his property and his trust. The trust documents have not been filed publicly.

With so many children eligible, and the fact that his children and grandchildren were left a mere $5,000 and $3,000 respectively, it is not surprising that a battle is brewing over the King estate.  This is especially the case since the vast majority of the estate is set aside in trust, to fund the education of his descendants.  King, who had limited access to formal education himself, wanted to ensure that those of his lineage would have the opportunity to go to college.

Lessons to be learned

Lesson #1: It is impossible to keep everyone happy.

King believed that in setting up the education trust, he would be distributing his assets according to the best interests of his large, complex and extended family.  Unfortunately, the happiness of one’s beneficiaries is never guaranteed.  Greed is greed.

Lesson # 2 You have more control than you think.

It is possible to set up various trusts and other mechanisms through your Will with a view to providing for family members in a manner that will enable you to maintain control over what that money is to be used for and who has the final say over how the money is spent.

This can be an excellent strategy in situations where children are fiscally irresponsible, when beneficiaries have alcohol or gambling issues (past or present),  or unable to care for themselves and provide accommodation.

Lesson #3 Inheritance Claims are often unavoidable

Even when your intentions are honourable you can’t guarantee that your beneficiaries won’t mount an inheritance claim against the estate.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the Court will look at the provision made for your beneficiaries.  Following this it may conclude that they require more control over their own funds.

With varied nature of Estate claims, it is not always possible to overcome and prevent each and every challenge that might arise after your death.

However, a skilled and experienced estate planning lawyer,  is able to bring to your attention risks that you may not even be aware of, workshopping thorough solutions (if any), and make alternative arrangements (if warranted) to at least reduce the risk or exposure to the value of your estate.

At Welden & Coluccio Lawyers we have the knowledge and expertise to counsel you through this very important aspect of estate planning.  We know that awesome Wills, those that continue to work hard for you beyond the grave, begin with meticulous estate planning.

Ok, so if my last blog about Wills (Nostradamus) was a bit of a stretch on celebrity, this one will surely break that string.  To be fair, even I feel bad calling this person a celebrity will, but hey, like I say, everyone needs a Will!!

A few weeks back my interest was piqued when I read a news headline suggesting that, according to a recently released Will,   “Osama bin Laden left millions of dollars to fund jihad.”

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born 10 March 1957 and was the founder of al-Qaeda, the organization that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the United States, along with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets.  He was a Saudi Arabian and a member of the wealthy bin Laden family.

The Will

Apparently the document, dated 3 months after the September 11 attack, was seized by Navy SEALs in 2011, when they entered bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan and killed him.  It was among a number of documents released into the public domain.

The Will is a single page document, handwritten in Arabic, which allegedly states he had over $AUD52M in Sudan which came to him from his brother.  Like any good Will should a number of gifts were outlined, including bequests of gold bars, diamonds and a Samsung 48-inch TV to family (as you do).  In the Will bin Laden states that he hopes his family will spend the rest on jihad for the sake of Allah.

Interestingly, as various reports claim, bin Laden also states a wish that his wives not remarry after his death and his children not join al-Qaida.

I presume his wives are not chomping at the bit to claim the document with the intent to carry out these specific wishes!

Conclusion

As always, bin Laden’s reminds us of the harsh reality that everyone needs a Will.   Everyone is going to die, at some point.  Even sadistic dictators.

It follows then, if you don’t want your wives to remarry….oh that’s right….next topic.

Greg Welden is a solicitor with more than 15 years’ experience in the Law.  His somewhat uncanny passion for all things related to Estate Law has seen him specialise in Estate Planning, Administration and Litigation.  Today, he is one of Adelaide’s most experienced solicitors in this field and is a regular contributor in both local and national conferences on the topic.