Celebrity Estate Planning

by Karen L. Brady

I had two clients today mention the $12 million pet trust Leona Helmsley had established for her dog. I had been cut off from most media, so I had to check it out. It reminded me of some other famous (or infamous) estate plans. There’s Anna Nicole Smith, of course, whose will didn’t consider the possibility her son would predecease her. Or Jacqueline Kennedy’s will, which provided for a charitable trust to minimize the estate taxes and is an effective example to dispute the claims that living trusts save more estate taxes than wills. (We do lots of living trusts, but we try not to make misleading statements about them.)

One of the most frustrating for me to consider is the situation of Ted Williams, the baseball legend. Williams’ will requested cremation, while he later signed a note requesting his body be frozen by a cryonics lab. I don’t usually recommend that memorial wishes be mentioned in the will. The will is often not read until the disposition of the remains has already been finalized. Yet, memorial wishes are important. I suggest that a separate document regarding memorial wishes be prepared and shared with the family. We often include some basic memorial wishes in the client’s living will, which is more likely to be reviewed at or near the end of life.

On the theory that we should look for lessons as often as possible, we can look to the estate plans of celebrities to help determine what works … and what doesn’t.