estate planning | Jay Brinker – Cincinnati Attorney

Dead Actors Society

Wednesday, 03 June 2015 07:47

The children and widow of Robin Williams are continuing to fight over his estate. His widow is seeking items left in the house even though Mr. Williams’ will left his jewelry, clothing, memorabilia, and awards to his children. The list of 300 disputed items reportedly includes underwear, slipper, and t shirts. More importantly, the widow will receive in trust an undetermined amount of money to care for the house he left her. Of course, the parties cannot agree on this amount.

Several points:

1. Williams and his attorney should have determined a specific amount for the upkeep of the house and erred on the high side. Vagueness in a will/trust only leads to disputes.

2. Fighting over underwear etc. proves that some people want to fight simply because the probate process is their last chance to fight with their siblings or step-parent.

3. Even though the parties both claim the underwear, rumor has it that they left the Patch Adams memorabilia at the curb for the garbageman.

The Thrill Is Gone Part II

Sunday, 31 May 2015 16:10

Since BB King died two weeks ago, some of his family members have accused his manager of poisoning him and have also threatened to challenge his will. King allegedly left his 13 children $5,000 each and left $3,000 to his grandchildren. He left the balance of his estate in trust for the education of future descendants.

Several points:

1. When children make ludicrous accusations against a long time friend and confidante, it is easy to see why Mr. King would want to leave them a nominal amount from his estate.

2. To ward off a will contest, Mr. King could have left them a larger sum i.e. $50K and tied the acceptance of it to not contesting the will. If someone contested the will, she would not receive her inheritance.

3. With their educations funded by Mr. King, perhaps his future descendants will realize that 89 year old diabetics in hospice care die naturally and not from poisoning.

Big Tips and Big Bequests

Wednesday, 20 May 2015 20:59

Late NYC art dealer, Robert Ellsworth, was in the news recently because he left $50,000 in his will to two waitresses at his favorite restaurant. He also left $10 million, a house in Connecticut, and $5,000/month to his boyfriend of 50 years who was 17 when he moved in with Ellsworth The boyfriend is challenging the will because of bequests made in trust to various charities, including Harvard, which would result in the estate planning attorney earning fees for serving as trustee of the trusts. The boyfriend alleges that Ellsworth was suffering from dementia when he revised his will to include the charities.

Several points:

1. Presumably a prior will made by Ellsworth was more favorable to the boyfriend because it would be reinstated if the most recent will is declared invalid.

2. $10 million and $5K/month seems generous, but is barely 5% of Ellsworth’s $200 million estate.

3. Regarding the attorney serving as trustee of the charitable trusts, I generally decline to serve as executor or trustee for my clients because of perceived conflicts of interest.

4. If Cher could live with Sonny when she was 16, I guess it was then socially acceptable for the 17 year old boyfriend to move in with the then 37 year old Ellsworth. Now, Ellsworth would be arrested for being involved with a minor, unless he was Doug Hutchison and she was Courtney Stodden.

5. With its $32 billion endowment, can we all agree that Harvard does not need a nickel more and should use its endowment to lower its tuition?

Bury and Not Shred?

Wednesday, 06 May 2015 20:52

A NH woman was sentenced to up to 3 years in jail for digging up the body of her father last year. He died in 2004. The woman was miffed that she had been omitted from her father’s will and was convinced her that her family had buried her father’s real will with his body. She did not find a will but reportedly found a bottle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes in his coffin.

Several points:

1. I offer to retain the original wills and trusts for my clients. I never suspected that preventing grave robbing is a good reason for doing so.

2. The deceased was survived by his wife. It would have been unlikely for a daughter to inherit anything upon his death while her mother survived.

3. The father would have had good reason to disinherit a daughter who was obsessed with exhuming his body for 10 years while claiming she was doing it for him.

4. For some reason, the woman never thought that a shredder would be a more effective way for a family to dispose of an unwanted will.

And This Is a Bad Idea?

Saturday, 25 April 2015 14:39

China’s Ministry of Culture has vowed to crack down on the presence of strippers at funerals. Apparently, strippers are used to bolster attendance at the funerals. A well attended funeral is considered a positive sign for the after life of the deceased.

Three quick points:

1. It is rare when “culture” and “strippers” are used in the same sentence.

2. China might now be eclipsing the US culturally in addition to economically.

3. Janice has permission to have strippers at my funeral so come one, come all.

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Dead Actors Society

The Thrill Is Gone Part II

Big Tips and Big Bequests

Bury and Not Shred?

And This Is a Bad Idea?

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