Fast, Furious, and Thriller

As noted earlier, when Paul Walker’s executor filed his will with the probate court, he estimated his future income at $8 million and this total estate at $25 million.  Also, as noted last Fall, the Executors of Michael Jackson’s estate are battling the IRS over the value of his estate, which they declared to be only $7 million but the IRS contends is worth more than $1 billion.  The discrepancy stems largely over the value of MJ’s likeness for commercial purposes (t shirts, merchandise) and the value of his musical catalog which also includes Beatles songs.  His estate valued them at $2,100 and $0 respectively.  The IRS valued them at a combined $900 million.

Several points:

1.  If Paul Walker will earn $8 million post-mortem, a $7 million valuation for Jackson’s estate is ludicrous.

2.  The King of Pop grossed $160 million in 2013, more than any other celebrity belying the low valuation of his music if not his likeness.

3.  I doubt that the image of a deceased entertainer with MJ’s murky past is worth $450 million, but it is worth more than $2,100.

4.  It might seem like the IRS “won’t stop ’til it gets enough” and the issues are “black or white,” but the estate’s stated values are “bad” if not “dangerous” and could make his family “scream” if they do not “beat it.”

Fast, Furious, and Admitted to Probate

The will of “Fast and Furious” star, Paul Walker, was admitted to probate last week.  The 2001 document has garnered some media attention because it appoints his father as executor of his $25 million estate which he left to a trust and designates his mother as guardian of his daughter, Meadow Rain, even though her mother survived her.   His estate consists of $10 million of investments, a house with $8.5 million equity, and projected $8 million residuals from his movies.

Several points:

1.  In split household situations, the biological parent will almost always be the sole guardian of a minor child even if the will designates someone else.

2.  In split household situations, I always designate a guardian for the minor children, although I condition it on the other parent being unable  to provide a stable home environment.

3.  Mr. Walker could have avoided the probate process on his investments by adding a transfer on death (TOD) designation to his trust.

4.  Meadow Rain?  In the annals of names of celebrity children it is probably better than Apple Martin and Blue Ivy Carter, and definitely better than Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof, Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, Moon Unit Zappa, and Diva Muffin Zappa but falls short of Tallulah Willis and Scout Willis.

 

Rock and Roll Lawsuits Never Die

Bill Graham was a famous concert promoter who died in a helicopter crash in 1991.   His estate sold his company, Bill Graham Enterprises, in 1997.  Prior to selling the company, the estate transferred his copyrights and trademarks, including the rights to famous concert posters, to the company.  His sons, who each inherited $10 million, sued the executor in Federal Court in 2010 for not disclosing the sale to them.  The sons allegedly discovered the sale while rummaging through their father’s business records in ’09.  The suit was initially dismissed because the 4 year statute of limitations had long expired, but the 9th Circuit said that the case may proceed to trial.

Several points:

1.  Probate is a state court matter.  I do not know why this is in federal court unless the attorneys were counting on the 9th Circuit to make an out of left field ruling in their favor.

2.  Of course a business transaction that looks good in 1997 might be viewed as less savvy in 2010.

3.  I suspect that the sons had depleted most of their inheritance and were actually rummaging for dollars when they “discovered” the sale of the property.

On the Back of the Working Class. Kind Of. (Huguette Clark Part 4)

I have previously blogged about the estate of Huguette Clark and the resulting litigation.  Her heirs, will beneficiaries, day nurse, attorney, and accountant reached a settlement last September in which the nurse forsook a $30 million bequest and agreed to return $6.7 million of the $31 million she had previously received, the accountant and attorney agreed to waive their rights to the $1 million they were to receive, and the heirs agreed to share $38 million after being left out of the will.  Now, the night nurse, who made $131K annually and received gifts of $1 million and was not a party to the settlement is suing the estate for being left out of the will after she was allegedly promised money by Ms. Clark.  The estate is suing her to return some of the gifts.

Several points:

1.  On its face, it does seem unfair that the day nurse received gifts of $30 million while the night nurse received $1 million while both worked 12 hour days, but then the night nurse only had limited hours to discuss gifts with Ms. Clark due to Ms. Clark’s sleep needs.

2.  Ms. Clark had no obligation to leave her nurse anything in her will.  Cases trying to enforce promises to leave a bequest are extremely difficult to win.

3.  Even without receiving anything in the will, the nurse made out fine with her six figure salary and seven figure gift for sitting next to a sleeping woman for 20 years.

4.  In what looks like the 1% exploiting the 99%, the nurses either received nothing under the will and had to  return prior gifts while the attorneys shared fees of $24 million.  In actuality, it was the rich exploiting the less rich because her night nurse’s income and assets placed her in the top 4% in the U.S.  Sympathies are hard to place in this story.

 

 

 

Back In The Office

Time away from the office is chewing up blogging time.  My son and I were skiing together last weekend in Colorado.  Picture below.  New post to follow.