Will, Trust, and Net Worth Unknown

Reports of the net worth and estate plan of celebrity chef and television host, Anthony Bourdain, are being circulated in various media outlets. The reports state that Bourdain, who was estranged from his wife at the time of his death, left his $1.2 million estate to his 11 year old daughter. His estate supposedly consisted of $450K in bank accounts, $250K of household goods, and $500K of goodwill associated with his name. Other reports state that he had a trust for his daughter and his estranged wife is the trustee of the trust. Also, if his daughter pre-deceased him, his estate was to go to the nanny of his daughter.

Several points:

1. At the time of his suicide, Bourdain was reportedly worth $16 million which is 10X more than the value listed in the probate filings.

2. The value of personal property and celebrity goodwill are often overstated which means that Bourdain might only have been worth $450K at the time of his death, half of which would have gone to his estranged wife after the finalization of their divorce.

3. The trustee of the trust for his daughter was his estranged wife. I never have an estranged or former spouses control the funds for a child because the spouse could use the funds for himself/herself.

4. In spite of trusting his wife with the funds or his daughter, Bourdain must have disliked her immensely if he wanted his money to go to the daughter’s nanny if his daughter was not living.

Photo Credit:  Joe Brier for USA Today
License:  Fair Use/Education (in linked article)

The Man Who Sold the World

The will of David Bowie was filed in Manhattan Surrogate Court on Friday.  The will left $1 million of his reported $100 million estate to the former nanny of his son, $2 million to his long time personal assistant, 25% of his estate to his 44 year old son, 25% in trust to his 15 year old daughter, and the balance to his wife, Iman.

Three points of minimal importance:

1.  I was initially surprised that his estate is being administered in NY rather than in England.  By residing in NY, the estate tax benefit for his estate is $2 million while the NY income tax rates were also in his favor for years.

2.  Leave it to Bowie to do as he sees fit until the end whether residing where he wants regardless of lower taxation elsewhere, using his death as art, or bending gender and other rules during his career.

3.  I like this plan - everyone receives enough to make her comfortable for the rest of her life even if Iman's best modeling days are behind her.

   Credit:    Masayoshi Sukita