Between Friends

An Andy Warhol painting is in the news. His portrait of Elizabeth Taylor is the subject of litigation between his foundation and his former "bodyguard", Agusto Bugarin.  The painting was expected to bring between $20 million and $30 million at an auction which has since been postponed.  The "bodyguard" who stands 5'4"" and weighs 135 pounds, and was likely Warhol's assistant, claims Warhol gave him the painting for his assistance in renovating a house.  The foundation claims that Bugarin was really his bodyguard and has patiently waited for anyone with knowledge of the painting to die before attempting to sell it.

Several, actually five, quick points:

1.  Gifts of assets without titles are difficult to prove/disprove.  I frequently see this in disputes about jewelry in an estate and whether it was given while mom was alive or taken by one of the daughters after mom died.

2.  Warhol died in 1987.  27 years is an incredibly long time for a man of limited financial resources to wait before trying to cash in on something he allegedly stole.

3.   Warhol was known for giving away his away.  Ask the University of Texas which lost its dispute with Ryan O'Neal over a portrait of Farrah Fawcett.

4.  I agree with Warhol's nephews who claim that Warhol was only joking when he referred to the 5'4" Filipino Bugarin as his bodyguard.  If I had a bodyguard, he would look like an NFL linebacker and only speak mono syllabic English language words.  And then only occasionally.

5.  I still do not understand the market for Warhol art.  I would not pay $20, much less $20 million, for a picture of Elizabeth Taylor in which she resembles a drag queen.

Norway - Land of Fjords, Trolls, and Casey Kasem's Body

Following up on a post from last year, Casey Kasem's widow finally buried his remains several weeks ago in Norway.  He supposedly had wished to be buried in LA, but she shipped his unembalmed (and malodorous) remains to Norway because she had ancestors from there.

Three quick points:

1.  Unembalmed and rotting remains in a foreign country are difficult to autopsy for purposes of determining elder abuse.

2.  The alleged Norwegian ancestral ties of a second wife should be unimportant in determining the burial site of an American of Lebanese descent.

3.  Perhaps the widow's Norwegian ancestors are the trolls important in Norwegian folklore.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year.  I hope everyone has a great one.  New post to follow over the weekend.

Merry Christmas

Darlene Love singing "Baby, Please Come Home" for the final time on Letterman.  May your Christmas be stand on the piano and belt it merry.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

The will of a Cincinnati area woman is in the national news because it provides that her nine year old German Shepherd mix was to be destroyed and its ashes mixed with hers if a friend did not take the dog or the dog did not go to an Utah shelter for orphaned animals. The friend has declined to care for the aggressive dog who needs muzzling around strangers and the Utah shelter costs $40,000. Animal lovers are horrified about the likely euthanization of the dog and are pillorying the deceased woman in the media. 

Several points: 

1. Ohio law allows pet trusts. An individual is designated to take care of the animal(s) and someone else manages the funds for the care of the animal. I have drafted quite a few of these in the past 2 years. 

2. With the thousands of animals killed daily in shelters, I think the critics' ire is misdirected when trying to save an elderly Cujo. 

3. If the legal proceedings last very long, the dog will reach its life expectancy (10 years for German Shepherds) and die of natural causes.  Time is a friend of people and the dog.

The Morning Line - 12/19

Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer has once again graciously allowed me to guest write his TML blog.

Is Wisconsin a County in Florida?

A 19 year old Wisconsin man murdered a Milwaukee area businessman in 1971.  After being sentenced to life in prison, he escaped prison in 1978, assumed the name of deceased child, established a trouble free life in Florida as a businessman himself, and eventually married in 1996.  Only when his wife pestered him for his birth certificate so he could obtain a passport did his life unravel and  she filed for divorce.  He committed suicide in 2011 five days after being asked to testify under oath about his real name.  The family of his murder victim recently filed suit to re-open his estate so they could file a claim against the estate because the estate did not publish a notice of his death in a Wisconsin paper.

Several points:

1.  Unless there was a wrongful death lawsuit and judgment, I am not sure what claim the victim's family has against the estate 40 years after the murder.

2.  Ohio requires creditors to file a claim against an estate within six months of the date of death without exception.

3.  Ohio does not require publication of any notice for estate creditors.

4.  Florida does require publication of notice for creditors but only in the county of the decedent's residence, not in other counties and presumably not in other states, including Wisconsin.