As mentioned the other day, Prince did not leave a will. A Minnesota court today appointed a corporate trust company as special administrator to manage his affairs and identify his heirs (I can help – his sister, 3 surviving half siblings, and the children of his 2 deceased half-siblings will inherit under law). His estate is rumored to be worth $300 million.
Reports are surfacing that Prince did not leave a will. Of course, it is ludicrous to expect someone to present his will one business day after his death. Still, his longtime attorney and friend said that he did not prepare a will for his Purple Majesty because Prince thought he would live to be 1,999. It is unlikely another attorney prepared a will for Prince. He is survived by a sister and three half-siblings.
Three quick points:
1. Live to be 1,999? At some point the attorney/friend has to say, “Dude, the average American lives to be 78. Add fifteen years for taking care of yourself. Tell me who should inherit your sizable estate and let’s write it down.”
2. Under Ohio law, his estate would pass equally to his sister and half sister (plus any children of his dead half-siblings).
3. If the attorney for Harper Lee were appointed as Executor, we would see various outtakes released as newly discovered material and presumably titled “1998.”
In light of Prince’s untimely death, the below chart is fascinating. Most common age of death for pop stars is 56. Mercifully, the trend line is up. Full story here.
Briefly updating three stories previously mentioned.
1. Paul Walker’s teenaged daughter settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $10 million against the driver of the Porsche in which he was riding at the time of his death in 2013. The settlement actually occurred nearly 18 months ago, but was only recently reported. Her lawsuit against Porsche for manufacturing an allegedly defective vehicle is still ongoing.
2. Sumner Redstone settled the lawsuit filed by his former girlfriend, Manuela Herzner, questioning his capacity to remove her as his health care surrogate and presumably his capacity to revise his will to omit her. She was allegedly slated to receive $50 million plus an expensive house. The settlement is reportedly for less than $70 million.
3. Last, the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that the court records regarding Tom Benson’s competency hearings should remain sealed and unavailable to the public. After the Harper Lee probate judge sealed her estate proceedings, it seems that Southern courts have a proclivity for privacy while their predecessors acted in hooded robes for their secrecy.
David Tepper is a hedge fund manager whose company is located in New Jersey. He is also a resident of the Garden State (misnomer alert). He recently announced that he was moving his corporate headquarters and his personal residence to Florida. The NJ state budget director then stated that this move could affect the amount of tax revenues generated by NJ.
In a topic that is evergreen, an Italian man adopted a boy from Ethiopia in 2007. The boy tragically died of cancer last year at the age of 13. The boy owned an iPhone 6 which both he and his father accessed by finger print ID. After his son died, the father lost access to the phone because he claims the phone restarted during an access attempt. The father has since written to Tim Cook begging him to assist with unlocking the phone so he can see the last two months of his son’s photos and life. Apple has been unable to assist him. In lieu of unlocking the phone, the guy has said he will accept a donation to an orphanage benefiting Ethiopian children.
A Massachusetts man was appointed guardian of his niece and nephew when their parents died in a car crash in 2009. The man was recently indicted for allegedly stealing approximately $250,000 from their trust fund in the 11 months after he was released from rehab. He pleaded not guilty.
Three very quick points:
Paul Daugherty has once again graciously allowed me to guest write his The Morning Line blog for the Cincinnati Enquirer. It is primarily about Mick Cronin. I hope you enjoy it.
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died last month at 89. Since her death, her executor first requested, and received, permission to keep her will private resulting in secrecy regarding the value of estate and her beneficiaries. Last week her executor notified the publisher of the mass market (re: less expensive) version of To Kill a Mockingbird that it would no longer allow the publication of that version of Lee’s beloved novel.
As previously mentioned, Sam Simon was the co-creator of The Simpsons. When he died a year ago, he reportedly left his $100 million estate to various charities. However, various charities he had supported during his life were initially miffed that they had not received support from his trust during the six months after his death. Also, the individual taking care of his Cane Corso was squabbling with the Trustee about receiving insufficient funds to care for the dog. Now, his girlfriend has filed a claim against his estate alleging that Simon had promised her $5 million in his will if she quit her job. His first wife, Jennifer Tilly, also filed a claim against the estate asking to continue to receive payments from his estate for work he did on The Simpsons and the Drew Carey Show.
Reluctantly resorting to advice columns for material. A woman with 4 children mentioned that her friend with 3 children had asked her to be the guardian of the 3 children. The first woman declined the possibility of serving as guardian after discussing the 3 additional children with her husband. The second woman has since ignored her friend. The first woman sought advice/affirmation for her decision.
Madeline Castellotti was the co-owner of famed NYC pizzeria, John’s Pizzeria. Prior to her death in 2004, she changed her will to leave her entire interest in the restaurant to her daughter, Lisa. She allegedly did so because her son, Peter, was going through a divorce and she did not want his estranged wife to receive any interest in the restaurant. Lisa was supposed to transfer half of her inheritance to Peter after the divorce was finalized. When she did not, Peter sued Lisa. An NY appeals court recently ruled that his 3 year old lawsuit may proceed.
A document purporting to be the will of terrorist Osama Bin Laden was released this week. The one page handwritten document dates from the late 1990’s. It was part of a cache of documents retrieved from his compound by Navy SEALs. In it, OBL gave 1% of his estate to one of his henchmen, 1% to another, and directed his family to use the rest of the estate to fund jihad. No word on what happened to his estate at his death or whether he ever updated his will.
Slow times in the newsworthy estates area. Going back a few months, Andrew Getty was the 47 year old grandson of J. Paul Getty who died of a meth overdose last year. His father, Gordon Getty, filed a claim against his son’s estate for repayment of $14 million that he allegedly loaned him. Gordon Getty is also seeking the return of 55 pieces of art valued at $1 million. The younger Getty’s Hollywood Hills house was listed for sale this week at $8 million.
Several quick points:
Paul Daugherty once again graciously allowed me to guest write his The Morning Line blog for the Cincinnati Enquirer. If you are a UC fan, you might enjoy it.
The will of David Bowie was filed in Manhattan Surrogate Court on Friday. The will left $1 million of his reported $100 million estate to the former nanny of his son, $2 million to his long time personal assistant, 25% of his estate to his 44 year old son, 25% in trust to his 15 year old daughter, and the balance to his wife, Iman.