South Florida Estate Planning Law : Florida Estate Planning Lawyer & Attorney : David Shulman Law Firm : South FL Wills & Trusts

I'll write more on this myself as it develops, but here are some articles to check out:

Smart Money: Michael Jackson's Death and Your Estate Plan

Reuters: Hello Goodbye: Jackson's Beatles rights at risk

Wall Street Journal: Getting Personal: Jackson Estate a Tangled Affair

Business Week: Settling Michael Jackson's Estate may be a Thriller.

At this point, all anyone is doing is speculating.  No one knows if he had a will or where it is.  At least no one who is talking.  There is a "rumor" going round the internet that "Michael Jackson willed his control of the Beatles songs to Paul McCartney."  That is almost certainly not true.

First, unless MJ specifically said this somewhere, how would anyone know it?

Second, the asset is highly leveraged with many secured creditors.

Finally, it's probably the most valuable thing that he owns.  Why would he do that to his children?

This is going to be fascinating from an estate planning and tax and administration perspective.  And I haven't even talked about what happens to his children yet.

Stay tuned.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Just a quick update to my earlier post on Anna Nicole Smith's attorneys petitioning the Supreme Court to intervene in their case.  According to Howard Bashman's How Appealing Blog, the AP is reporting that ""Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has turned down a plea for help from the estate of Anna Nicole Smith in a fight over a Texas oil tycoon's fortune.""

So I guess my hope to see Justice Scalia crying over the dispostion of her body will have to wait.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As I Iook out the window of my office, I can see the Broward County Courthouse.  As an estate planning  attorney who also practices probate administration, having an office across the street from the courthouse makes attending hearings very convenient.  But today, as I look out at the Courthouse I am reminded of what triggered the building's 15 minutes of international fame, the Anna Nicole Smith Hearings. 

Anna Nicole Smith was a train wreck, both in life, and sadly in death.  If there ever was a case to come out of South Florida that showed how essential proper estate planning was, it was hers.  To briefly refresh your recollection, Anna Nicole Smith (nee' Vickie Lynn Marshall) died on February 8, 2007 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (now with Blackjack!) in Hollywood, Florida.  Her son, Daniel Smith predeceased her by six months.  After her death the fight over the disposition of her body occupied a bored nation's attention.

There are two recent updates in the case.

First, Howard K. Stern, Smith's attorney, business manager, boyfriend, whatever, and her doctor were arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiring to furnish her with drugs.

Second, the battle over her octogenarian husband, J. Howard Marshall's estate continues.  The main combatants over Marshall's estate were Smith and Marshall's son, and they are both dead. On Monday, her estate's attorney filed a writ with the U.S. Supreme Court asking that they be allowed to start collecting on her $88 million judgment, which is still tied up in litigation.

I just hope Justice Scalia doesn't cry when issuing his ruling like Judge Seidlin did.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks (1)