Give It Up or Turnit Loose

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died in 2006. His estate is still unsettled due to myriad lawsuits. He had intended to leave $2 million for scholarships for his grandchildren, memorabilia to his children, and the rest to a charity for scholarships for children from SC and Georgia.

Lawsuits have involved whether a woman should have been trustee, whether people should have been removed as trustee, the paternity of a son, and the validity of Brown's marriage (his wife reportedly was married at the time of their marriage) plus the run of the mill will contest suits. The most recent suit involves whether his wife could sell the rights to his songs.

Two points:

1. There are no good lessons here. If heirs want to fight, they will find reasons to fight and no planning can prevent that.

2. I always preferred the music of Brown's contemporaries, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, both who died tragically young. One benefit of dying young is that there is no large estate to fight over nor large family to fight.

Photo Credit:  Michael Holahan/Augusta Chronicle, via Associated Press and linked NYT article
License:  Fair Use/Education

The Persistence of Illegitimacy

Salvador Dali died in 1989 and left his entire estate to the Spanish government.  Pilar Tabel is a Tarot card reader and fortune teller who claims that she is Dali’s daughter due to a brief romance between her mother and the famous artist in the mid-50's.  She has tried for 10 years to prove that Dali is her father.  A DNA test conducted from his death mask was inconclusive.  She alleged that she did not receive the results of a DNA test conducted the next year.  Dali was allegedly gay or simply preferred masturbation or voyeurism so the paternity claim of this woman seems far fetched. She also sued an author for supposedly basing a fictional character on her.  Nonetheless, a Spanish court has ordered the exhumation of his body. 

Several points:

1.  If you read the entire article, you might wish to shower afterwards.  A guy who is turned on sexually by Hitler is abnormal.

2.  I would think that a case brought 28 years after someone’s death would be barred by the statute of limitations or the principle of laches.  

3.  In the U.S., Dali would not be obligated to leave his daughter, legitimate or illegitimate, anything.

4.  It is unlikely that the woman did not receive the results of the second DNA test - I believe that they were negative and she simply waited another 9 years before pursuing this claim.

5.  I doubt I am the only person who finds this matter incredibly surreal.