BlogRead the Latest News

 

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.
Photo Copyright:  ZZ/NY/RY/REX/Shutterstock
License:  Fair Use/Education

Float Like a Butterfly, Get Stung By a Bee

snoopThe ever not so eloquent, Snoop Dogg, was asked this week if he had a will or estate plan. His NSFW response was, “I don’t give a f— when I’m dead. What am I gonna give a f— about? This goin’ on while I’m gone, you know?”

And continuing in his non-King’s English, he added, “Hopefully, I’m a butterfly, I come back and fly around and look at all these motherf—–s fighting over my money and s–t, like, ‘Look at all these dumb motherf—–s.’ Ha!”

Only four sentences, but so many points. Minimizing them:

1. Snoop can make life easier for his loved ones if he spends a bit of time deciding who should inherit the wealth accumulated from his questionable talents. He could eliminate any people claiming to be his illegitmate child by naming people in his will.

2. Prince reportedly has had 900 people come forward for DNA testing claiming to be his haIf-siblings while anyone who can establish that he is Prince’s child, will hit the jackpot and inherit all of Prince’s wealth.

3. Raise your hand sheepishly if you think Snoop has fewer illegitmate children than Prince. You would be wrong.

4. I doubt Snoop views his family as loved ones when he refers to them as “dumb motherf—–s.”

5. Maybe it is just me, but if I were reincarnated, unlike Snoop I would prefer to return as something more fierce and substantial than a short lived insect with pretty wings.

Made for Hollywood – Wealth, Murder, Gangs, and Prostitutes

I wish I had the screen rights for this story.  A wealthy tech investor was murdered by gang members who were related to the harem of prostitutes who spent considerable   time in the house he shared with his ex-wife.  In addition to 2 adult children, he had 2 children with a former prostitute who are now seeking support and half of his estate.

Two points:

1.  The claims of the prostitutes’s daughters will depend on how he defined children in his will.

2. Not to be Puritanical, hanging with unsavory characters and living a hedonistic life might be fun, but it rarely ends well.

Contact Info

image

Address

Law Office Of Jay Brinker
1 E. Fourth Street - Suite 900
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Email

[email protected]

Phone

(513) 665-4888

Contact Me

All Posts By Jay Brinker

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.