The Thrill Is Gone, Part II

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.

The Thrill Is Gone

While BB King is in hospice care, three of his eleven surviving children were in court last week trying to wrest the dying man’s power of attorney from his long time manager.  The court found that there was no evidence to support the family members’ claims of physical neglect or misuse of funds.  The judge further stated that Mr. King is competent and can make his own decisions to change his care providers if he desires.

Several points:

1.  This seems like a battle with little at stake for the family because the power of attorney will cease to be effective upon Mr. King’s death. Essentially, his children are incurring large legal bills for control of his affairs for the next two weeks.   

2.  Even appropriate planning, such as implementing financial and health care powers of attorney, cannot prevent disputes among family members when money is involved. 

3.  With eleven surviving children, and four deceased children, I suspect that the administration of his estate will be neither quick nor smooth.