He Would Die 4 U

It has been two years since Prince died of fentanyl poisoning. Because he did not leave a will instructing how to administer his estate (remember he thought was going to live until he was 1999), a bank has been appointed as executor of his estate while his siblings and half siblings will be the beneficiaries.

Some of his friends are complaining that his executor, who is supposed to maximize revenue from the estate, is not respecting Prince’s legacy by releasing material such as Prince’s original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U”, allowing tours of Paisley Park, and permitting a hologram image of Prince to be used during Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl show.

Several points:

1. If Prince wanted to control his legacy he should have executed a will. Even people with no sense of mortality need to provide for their demise.

2. It is easy for friends who have no financial stake in Prince’s estate to complain about the revenues being generated by not respecting his legacy.

3. Justin Timberlake needed all the help possible for his Super Bowl performance.

4. Pains me to say this as a huge Prince fan, but Nothing Compares 2 Sinead’s version of the song.

Photo Credit:  Michael S. Williamson/Washington Post
License:  Fair Use/Education (from linked article)

Killing A Mockingbird

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died last month at 89. Since her death, her executor first requested, and received, permission to keep her will private resulting in secrecy regarding the value of estate and her beneficiaries. Last week her executor notified the publisher of the mass market (re: less expensive) version of To Kill a Mockingbird that it would no longer allow the publication of that version of Lee's beloved novel.  The least expensive version will now retail for $14.99 or $16.99 compared to the current $8.99, financially harming schools that purchase the book for their students. For the record, the executor of Lee's estate is also her attorney who "discovered" a draft of Go Set a Watchman in Lee's safe deposit box and oversaw its publication last year. Also for the record, Lee suffered a stroke in 2007 and spent her last years in a wheelchair mostly deaf and blind with impaired memory. Lee, who had no children nor grandchildren, zealously guarded her privacy and lived frugally even though she earned $3.2 million annually in royalties from Mockingbird.

Many points:

1. Executors can have broad powers to handle a decedent's estate whether those powers are granted in the will or by statute, including the power to run a decedent's business.

2. The compensation of executors is set by statute. In Ohio, executors receive 4% of the first $100K in assets, 3% of the next $300K, and 2% of everything above $400K.

3. Due to the compensation structure, the larger an estate, the larger the compensation for the executor.

4. Increasing the income and size of an estate by increasing the price of books to schools and publishing a book that likely did not merit publishing is not a way to keep the reputation of Harper Lee unsullied.

5. I almost always decline to serve as executor for my clients when asked due to the perception of a conflict of interest.

6. Thankfully Lee's attorney/executor never met JD Salinger or else we would have been subjected to a crappy draft of Catcher in the Rye marketed as a new discovery during the last year of his life.

Solitaire Confinement

We have already traveled this road, but it is worth revisiting.  After the death of her husband in August, a Canadian woman was locked out of her husband's Apple account because she did not know his Apple ID.  She discovered this when her card favorite game would not function and she was unable to reinstall the game. Apple told her she needed  a court order to change the password, or she could create her own Apple ID an repurchase the game.

Three quick points:

1.  I advise all of my clients to write down their on-line passwords and notify their executor of their location so their executor can access their digital assets after death.

2.  My wills authorize the executor to access any digital accounts.

3.  In this woman's case, she would have been far wiser to spend $2.99 to download a new version of the game.

Dead and Bloated

Scott Weiland was formerly the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots. At the time of his death last month, he had been married to his third wife for two years.  Meanwhile, his second wife, Mary Forsberg, filed his 2007 will in LA County probate court because it named her as executor of his $2 million estate.  The will was executed several months before they divorced.

Three brief points:

1.  Ohio law would remove the ex-wife as both a beneficiary of the will and as executor once the divorce is finalized.  It would also remove her as the beneficiary of any IRA or insurance policy.

2.  Even with the protection of a state law treating a divorced spouse as pre-deceased for estate planning purposes, it is best to update estate planning documents and beneficiary designations upon getting divorced.  If there is no such state law, it is imperative to update the documents.

3.  As always, I guess it is asking too much of someone whose divorce and death were both attributable to drug use to be pro-active in updating one's estate planning documents.

Maraschino Marijuana

Arthur Mondella was the high living, third generation owner of a Brooklyn maraschino cherry family business.  When his business was being investigated for illegally dumping cherry juice onto the streets, investigators found a large marijuana grow room.  He then locked himself in his private bathroom and shot himself.

His will left 80% of his reported $8.5 million estate to his three daughters and the remaining 20% to his sister.  The will designated one of his daughters to serve as executrix.  The attorney who prepared the will lost it and offered a copy of it for probate.  While the will is being validated by the probate court, his ex-wife, a Russian mail order bride by her attorney's description, is opposing the appointment of his daughter as executrix on the grounds that she is not qualified to fill that role.

So many points that it is hard to focus only on the following:

1.  The individual designated as executor in a will is almost always appointed as executor by the court.  If a temporary executor is needed to operate a business, the individual designated as the executor would seem to be the best person to fill the role.

2.  I am not sure that a Russian mail order bride is the best person to challenge another's qualifications to serve as executor unless the position involves marketing.

3.  As profitable as marijuana growing might have been, Mr. Mondella might have missed his true calling.  The cherry juice in the street was causing neighborhood bees to turn red and produce cherry tainted honey.  The Whole Foods/Fresh Market base would have paid a premium for the legal production of  cherry flavored honey.  Heck, even Walmart customers would like the product if sufficiently discounted.

Big Tips and Big Bequests

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?

Really Dead but Virtually Alive

Ever wonder what happens to your social media accounts after death?  Most likely not, but the below chart nicely illustrates how the various providers treat them.

Three quick points:

1.  Your will should have a clause authorizing the social media provider to follow the directions of your executor.

2.  Write down your passwords and let your executor know where they are located.

3.  Even after the account is deactivated, the NSA likely has a copy of it (and your emails and phone calls) in its Utah data center.