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Modern Love

Lawyers handling the estate of David Bowie have set a date of May 4 for anyone claiming to be a child of Bowie’s or a creditor of his estate to file a claim. The “child” part is important because the allegedly once bi-sexual Bowie left 1/4 of his estate to each of his two acknowledged children and half to his wife. The issue is that Bowie claimed to have been “incredibly promiscuous” during the 70’s and 80’s. His romances are alleged to have included Mick Jagger’s former girlfriend (Marianne Faithfull), Mick’s ex-wife (Bianca), Mick himself, Susan Sarandon, Charlie Chaplin’s widow (Oona O’Neill), and Slash’s mom. And your childhood best friend’s mom. Or dad.
Several brief points:
 
1. Under Ohio law (and Bowie would be the last person to claim residence in Ohio), creditors have six months from the date of death to file a claim against the estate for money owed by the decedent.
 
2. Illegitimate children generally can only claim from their dad’s estate if they were acknowledged by the decedent or if the child proves paternity after the death of the decedent.
 
3. In drafting estate documents for the Thin White Duke, it would have been best to specifically name the children rather than use the term “my child” which opens the door for illegitimate children to inherit.
 
4. The good part of May-December romances (i.e. Oona O’Neill) or bi-sexual couplings (yeah, we are looking at you, Mick), is that paternity is not a concern.
 
5. Bowie definitely knew about the power of charm, but he never let love walk on by.
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As Tears Go By

L’Wren Scott was the fashion designer girlfriend of Mick Jagger.  When she committed suicide 10 days ago, rumors swirled that she was in financial trouble.  After her will leaving her entire estate to Mick was filed in NY Surrogate’s Court this week, media outlets are reporting that she was not financially stressed because the probate documents listed her as the owner of an $8 million condo and $ 1 million of personal belongings.

Several points:

1.  The media outlets are incorrect and Ms. Scott could have been financially strapped.  NY (and Ohio) requires initial probate documents to reflect gross value of assets.  Debts and liabilities are not required to be listed so it is doubtful that she had a condo with $8 million equity.

2.  Leaving money to Mick Jagger?  No matter how much she wanted to show love for him, L’Wren might have been better off selecting a charity important to her and Mick, assuming she had assets to leave. Mick does not need a nickel from her which will only be taxed at his death (although he and Keith Richards might have a deal with the devil to live forever).

3.  As I have mentioned before, I remain available for media consultation on will and probate interpretation matters.  Someone has to assist in getting these stories reported correctly.

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I am an attorney located in Cincinnati, Ohio who practices in the areas of estate planning, probate, asset protection, and small business advice. I make a difficult and bewildering process as simple as possible. Most importantly, I provide "more for less" for my clients.