Reasons To Plan Your Estate, Even If You're Single And Don't Have Children

More and more Americans are living on their own. The 2018 U.S. census revealed that there 110.6 million unmarried people over the age of 18. Of them, 63% have never been married; 23% are divorced; 13% are widowed. Most live alone, and 53% are women.

 

People who are single and have no children will sometimes say about estate planning, "It's just me, who cares? Why should I bother figuring out who gets what in the end?" Actually, there are compelling reasons to bother. And not all the reasons have to do with what happens after you are gone. Some of them have to do with what happens during your life, when you certainly will care. 

 

Do You Have Relatives You Care About? Without an estate plan identifying your beneficiaries, the state will decide who gets your assets, giving priority to your relatives in order of their relatedness to you. Depending on your family situation, your money could end up going to relatives you don't care about, or even relatives you actively dislike! If you do have family members who you care about - siblings, or nieces and nephews, say - an estate plan is essential to ensure that your assets end up in their hands. 

 

Do You Have Causes You Care About? Let's assume for the moment that you have no blood relatives or close friends to whom you want to leave an inheritance. Or maybe your relatives really don't need the money. Do you have causes that matter to you? Some of our clients leave assets to religious organizations, philanthropic organizations, their alma maters. The possibilities are endless. Knowing your assets will end up helping a cause near to your heart can be very comforting. 

 

Do You Want To Be Sure The Courts Don't Take Over If You Are Incapacitated? If you don't name anyone to manage your financial and health decisions if you become incapacitated, the courts may get involved and name a guardian for you. Your guardian could end up being a stranger who knows nothing of your life, desires, values. Or worse yet, it could end up being one of those relatives you can't stand!

 

For your peace of mind, you should establish a health care surrogate, living will and a durable power of attorney naming someone YOU choose to perform these jobs. If you do not have a relative or friend who meets the bill, you still have options. For example, one of our clients recently asked a longtime nurse at his doctor’s office to serve as his health surrogate. Your attorney or accountant may be willing to take on handling your financial decisions.

 

Whatever you do – don’t do nothing! See an estate planning attorney to discuss an estate plan that works for you.

No Vanderbilt-Size Inheritance for Gloria's Sons

Socialite and clothing designer Gloria Vanderbilt died on June 17 at age 95, just weeks after being diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. The great-great granddaughter of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, at a young age she inherited what would be $35 million in today’s funds. At her death it was widely reported that her sons, including news commentator Anderson Cooper, would not get an inheritance. In 2014, Cooper had said, "My mom's made clear to me that there's no trust fund. There's none of that."

Well, it turns out there is some of that. Vanderbilt’s will, filed recently in New York surrogate court, reveals that her sons are getting an inheritance. Charles, her son with conductor Leopold Stokowksi, will inherit her antiques-filled Manhattan co-op. Cooper will get "everything else," estimated at about $1.5 million.

That's a lot of money by most people's standards. But by Vanderbilt standards, it seems rather paltry. What happened to Gloria Vanderbilt's money? According to a June article in Forbes, Gloria spent her own funds lavishly. Even though she generated millions of her own dollars from the line of jeans she established in the 1980s, she ultimately had to sell two homes to pay her tax bill. Four divorces probably didn't help, either.

Her will is a "tell" that there is no Vanderbilt-sized estate. Her assets were not in a trust. Her will does not include tax planning of any type. Her estate plan does not even attempt to keep her affairs out of probate.

Vanderbilt also has a third living son, Chris Stokowski, who estranged himself from the family four decades ago and has stayed out of the public eye. He gets nothing from his mother. A fourth son, Anderson's brother Carter Anderson, committed suicide in 1988, at age 23.

Social Media Becomes Evidence in Battle Over French Rocker's Estate

The family feud over the estate of rocker Johnny Hallyday - at least, the first battle in what figures to be a continuing war - has come to a close. And in a sign of the times, Hallyday's social media account has played a pivotal role. The situation makes clear an emerging reality: what we put online can catch up with us – even when we are gone!

Many Americans aren't familiar with Hallyday, although he's been a superstar in France for decades. Intrigued with American rock 'n roll from a young age, he rose to fame as the "French Elvis," selling over 100 million records during his career.

In December 2017 the 74-year-old Hallyday died of lung cancer. At his death he had lived in Los Angeles for approximately ten years with his fourth wife, Laeticia, and their two adopted daughters, Jade and Joy. As an expatriate, Hallyday had a long history of locking horns with French taxing authorities, stating in one interview that he might eventually consider returning to France – but only if it changed its tax laws.

The singer obtained his green card in 2014. That same year, he had a California lawyer draft his will. The will left everything to his widow Laeticia. It cut out his biological adult children from four prior marriages, none of whom reside in the U.S. You can do this in America, of course, where there is no legal obligation to leave anything to adult children. Not so in France. There, surviving children are automatically entitled to a piece of their parent's estate. 

Obviously, Hallyday's adult children were none too pleased that under American law, they were being disinherited. Their father's estate has been estimated at about $112 million, and consists of rights to his extensive music catalog, several homes, many luxury cars, and even the proceeds from a posthumously issued album that has already sold over a million copies.

Hallyday was mourned in France with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a national hero, including a funeral procession along the Champs-Elysees. Shortly thereafter, his adult children took their grievances to a French court. Laura Smet, 35, and David Hallyday, 52, argued that their father was not a bona fide resident of the U.S. They claimed his will was invalid and French law should prevail - which would make them automatic beneficiaries of his estate. Although wealthy in their own right, the adult children seem motivated beyond money. Smet had sorrowfully noted that under the U.S. will, she would not even inherit the signed sleeve of the album “Laura” that her father had recorded to celebrate her birth.

Hallyday’s and Laeticia's lawyers countered that because Hallyday had lived in the U.S. for over a decade and enrolled his children in school here, he was effectively a U.S. resident, and that U.S. law should prevail.

However, the lawyers for the French adult children had an ace up their sleeve – an online ace. With access to photos and dates from the Hallydays' public Instagram accounts, they were able to demonstrate to the court that from 2012 to 2017, Hallyday had spent more time on French soil than on American soil. This included time spent on St. Bart’s, a French island in the Caribbean, as well as the eight months he had been in France for medical treatment just prior to his death.

On May 28 a court in Nanterre handed the adult siblings a victory, ruling that their father's domicile was France, and French law prevailed. The court stated: "Up to the end he lived a bohemian and nomadic life, but above all a very French life that led him to live... usually in France." If the ruling stands, there are now five beneficiaries: the two adult children; Laeticia; and the couple’s two young children. Of course France will also benefit, as the ruling allows it to get its hands on the inheritance taxes the estate generates. Hallyday’s lawyers intend to appeal, citing evidence that he and his wife were already planning to apply for U.S. citizenship when he died. 

Seul le temps dira: only time will tell.

The Hallyday case has implications for how your social media may figure in your estate planning, will contests, and conceivably, a number of other legal issues. For example, if a disgruntled heir argues that you lacked capacity when you signed a will cutting him out, what will your Facebook posts say? Will you have posted any comments, even in jest, referring to your poor memory or "losing it"? Or suppose you relocate from New York and claim that Florida is your domicile, relieving you of paying New York State estate taxes. Will your Instagram account back you up, or betray you as they did Hallyday?

Be careful what you post. This is a whole new world and this is uncharted territory!

Rocker Tom Petty's Estate Plan Is Free-Fallin'

It is always wise to seek experienced legal guidance when you are setting up your estate plan. Wording you may think is obvious may not be as clear to others as it is to you. Any ambiguity in your plan can create chaos for family members. For the family of late musician/songwriter Tom Petty, an ambiguous phrase has created a legal quagmire that can be described by the title of one of his hits: it's Free-Fallin'.


A Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Petty died from an accidental drug overdose in 2017. He left behind a wife, Dana, and two daughters from his prior marriage, Adria and Kim. He also left behind a music catalog worth millions. In his trust, Petty instructs Dana to create a limited liability corporation to hold his musical properties. However, the wording is unclear as to how and to what extent he wished his wife and daughters to manage it. The trust states:  


"With respect to the creation of the Artistic Property Entity, the Trustee is directed to create the governing documents of the Artistic Property Entity such that those of the Spouse, ADRIA and KIM who are living at the time of creation of the Artistic Property Entity shall be entitled to participate equally in the management of the Artistic Property Entity, even though their respective economic interests in the Artistic Property Entity are not equal."


At issue is the phrase, "participate equally in the management..." Precisely what does it mean? Petty's widow and children are interpreting it differently, to their own respective advantage. For Adria and Kim, equal participation means they get 2 of the 3 LLC's management votes, thus giving them control over the LLC and the ability to outvote their stepmother. In a lawsuit they allege that their stepmother is resisting their rightful attempts to manage the posthumous release of their father's work. According to an article in Billboard, the sisters want to be actively involved in "marketing, promotional and artistic considerations." Their lawsuit claims that their stepmother has failed to transfer their father's musical property into the LLC, and demands that she do so immediately. 


Petty's widow does not see it that way. She has filed her own lawsuit. She alleges that a more accurate reading of the trust suggests that her late husband wanted her and his daughters to make decisions unanimously. Obviously that interpretation is favorable to Dana, because it would prevent her decisions from being overruled by her stepdaughters. In her lawsuit she states that her stepdaughters, particularly Kim, have "demonstrated their resentment over their father's love of Petitioner and her role in his life." Dana has requested that a manager be appointed to oversee "significant decisions" on the estate, and notes that Adria's erratic behavior, which includes sending threatening emails to the members of Petty's band and blocking the release of recordings, has jeopardized her business dealings.


A hearing has been set for both motions on June 11. The ruling could mark the end of this dispute, but that is unlikely. The situation is a volatile mix involving a vitally important but ambiguous phrase in Petty's estate plan; a stepmother; children from a prior marriage; and lots of money. Chances are the parties won't be playing in harmony anytime soon.

Boomers More Prepared For Dying Than Living

The values of the Baby Boom generation seem to have have changed over the years. Once it was all about flower power. Now the focus includes financial power - specifically, leaving a financial legacy. 


A March 25, 2019  Financial Advisor Magazine article entitled "Baby Boomers More Prepared For Dying Than Living" reports on a recent survey from the Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement. The survey found that Boomers are eager to leave a financial legacy for their loved ones. But at the same time, they are giving short shrift to the challenges of bankrolling their own long-term care. In other words, they are focused on death planning, less so on life planning. 


It's a puzzling finding, because the majority of respondents admit they know someone who needs long term care, and 45% have been caregivers themselves! Moreover, the data shows Boomers face a significant chance of needing long-term care: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there is a 70% chance that someone who is 65 years of age today will need some type of long-term care in the future. Since long-term care costs can easily impoverish a middle class family, neglecting life planning jeopardizes the chances of anything being left over for the children.


Of course, in today's America, there are constraints on what a middle class person can do to prepare for long-term care costs. The "Medicare for All" mantra with long-term care included, remains just a dream at this point. Notwithstanding, there are steps Baby Boomers can and should take to protect their nest eggs:


First, there is long-term care insurance. In the past decades there have been many changes in the industry, giving consumers more flexible insurance opportunities. For more information on these policies, click here.


There is also Medicaid. Like many people, Boomers tend to assume that they need to be impoverished to get long-term care benefits in Florida. But with professional legal guidance, that's not necessarily the case. And the sooner you start planning, the better.


Baby Boomers are well-advised to get a grip on not only what they want to leave behind, but how they are going to cope during their lifetimes if incapacity strikes. To get the ball rolling, meet with our Florida elder law our attorneys to  discuss your options. Don't procrastinate! 

How To Divide Your Assets Among Children: What's Really "Fair"?

“That’s not fair!” What parent of youngsters hasn't heard that countless times? It's a complaint that doesn't necessarily vanish when children are adults. In fact, depending on how they feel they've been treated in your estate plan, your kids may be complaining about unfairness even after you are gone, to the detriment of their relationship with one another.

 

Is equal always fair? How can you avoid playing favorites in your estate plan? The most obvious approach is to split everything equally. But suppose your children's circumstances are vastly different? In those cases, treating your children "equally" in your estate plan may not necessarily be the same as treating them "fairly." Here are just a few situations when dividing everything equally may not be the best solution:

• Scenario 1: One child is far more successful financially. Example: Child A is making a killing on Wall Street as an investment banker. Child B, just as hardworking, has made teaching high school English his life’s work. If you split your assets “equally,” B may feel slighted, and miss out on money he could legitimately put to good use. If you give the financier less, he may feel rejected and punished for being successful, despite the fact that he does not need the money.

• Scenario 2: Child A is fiscally responsible. Child B makes bad financial decisions and seems always to be in dire financial straits. B may be immature, or may have a drug of mental health issue. You know that if A gets his inheritance as a lump sum up front, he'll manage it wisely. But you hesitate to give B his inheritance all at once, and would prefer to put it in trust so that the trustee has oversight over how it is used. Will B understand why he is being treated differently? Maybe. Will he resent his sibling who is getting his inheritance up front? Quite possibly.

• Scenario 3: Child A is healthy, but Child B has a disability or lifelong medical issues. Depending on B’s circumstances, you may want to leave him more than you leave A. If you expect B will need federal benefits in the future, you may want to put B’s funds in a special needs trust. Despite the unequal treatment, the need for this arrangement is likely to be understood by both children. But that does not eliminate the issue of who gets to manage child B's trust. Will your healthy child want to be his brother's or sister's keeper, or consider it a burden?

• Scenario 4: Child A has worked since the teenage years, put himself through school and never asked you for a penny. On the other hand, you gave Child B $200,000 for college tuition and room and board, and you recently gave him $50,000 as a down payment for a home. Splitting your assets equally at death between the two of them might be great for B, but is it really "fair"? Instead of equal distributions, you may want to consider the gifts you’ve made to B over the years as a kind of early inheritance, and deduct that amount from what you are leaving B when you pass away. 

• Scenario 5: Over the years Child A has been caring for you, taking you to your doctors' appointments, checking up on you by phone and in person, helping you with your paperwork and with other everyday matters. Child B is no busier than A and lives just as close, but rarely lifts a finger to help. You don't know if A resents B, but you wouldn't be surprised if he does. Is an equal division of your assets between the two really fair, you wonder? How will this play out between the two if you reward A for his efforts by giving him more? 

What are your alternatives? When they were little, all you had to do was split the cookie equally, and problem solved. It's not that easy now. 

How to distribute assets to children with different needs and histories while trying to be even-handed can be a vexing problem. Some parents, unable to find a “perfect” solution, will continuously delay making a plan or never create one, letting the State of Florida's intestacy laws determine who gets what. That will result in each child getting an equal share - but doesn't solve the potential problem of one child feeling resentful in relation to siblings.

Our job as your Florida estate planning lawyers is to help you formulate a reasonable plan that you can live with (and die in peace with), and that your kids are likely to find "fair." Obviously, there is no one solution suitable for every family. We will sit down with you to explore in detail your finances, family dynamics, family history, and your goals. 

 
If you decide not to split everything equally, it is usually a good idea to tell your children about the decision in advance and explain the reasoning behind your decision, so they are not blindsided later on. You should also make brief mention of your reasons in your estate plan. This can go a long way towards fostering a good relationship among your children after your passing - and could potentially even prevent a lawsuit against your estate from an angry child who feels "That's not fair!"

Electronic Wills Not Ready For Prime Time in Florida

Conducting business online is routine these days. We pay bills online. Shop online. Bank online. File tax returns online. So it's natural to ask: Can we create a valid will online? (To be clear, an electronic will does not refer to just downloading a form from a website. It means creating, signing, witnessing, notarizing, and storing the document online.)

In Florida and in all states except two (Nevada and Indiana), the answer is no. The electronic will has proven that it is not quite ready for prime time. If and when it will be remains to be seen.

To guard against fraud, a will must be executed with painstaking formalities. Unlike other documents, the will goes into action only when its creator is no longer around. Pairing those strict legal requirements with digital technology is proving to be a challenge. 

Not that Florida hasn’t tried. In 2017 the state passed the Electronic Wills Act, which included rules governing how the testator, notary and witnesses could participate in a will signing by secure video link - even if they were in different locations. The bill required the video to be recorded, time stamped and stored along with the will. After signing, the will would need to be stored online with a “qualified custodian.” 

The bill never came to fruition, though. It was vetoed by the governor amidst a swirl of unanswered questions. Critics worried about hacking, despite proponents' belief that technologies like Blockchain can keep the process secure. There were also concerns about fraud: Could someone unseen be off-camera during a video conference, influencing the testator? And what would happen if the online custodian went out of business? What about hardware and software glitches? These and other challenging issues are currently under review by the Uniform Commission on Law.

Creating a will is not about filling in the blanks. You should always discuss your situation and goals with a qualified estate planning attorney who knows the law and will make sure this most important document is executed properly. Electronic wills may be in our future, but we are definitely not there yet.

Family Conflict Erupts Over Estate's Precious Paintings

One of the fundamental goals of estate planning is to leave a legacy of family harmony. An estate need not be a fortune to spark a family feud. But of course, it helps. Take, for example, the Neumann family of New York.


Family patriarch Hubert Neumann, 87, and his wife Dolores had three daughters: Belinda, Kristina and Melissa. In the 1980s, Dolores befriended little-known graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and acquired several of his works. Today, his paintings are worth millions.


Dolores died in Sept. 2016 of liver cancer. Soon after, Belinda, 51, turned over one of the Basquiat paintings for auction at Sotheby’s. Hubert sued to block the sale, claiming Belinda had tricked her ailing mother into signing over the rights to the work. Although Hubert lost the suit, the painting, an oil on wood titled “Flesh and Spirit,” went for $30.7 million. That was far less than the expected $100 million. Belinda then sued her father for $100 million, claiming his lawsuit had scared off investors and depressed the price.


As often happens with estate contests, this is a saga that doesn't look like it will wrap up quickly. More legal maneuvering is now in the works. The Neumann family still owns many precious paintings, including additional works by Basquiat, as well as by Picasso, Miro, Haring, Koons and others. Family members want to hang on to them. Belinda, on the other hand, wants to sell them, and is suing her father and sisters for the right to do so. According to her lawsuit, Belinda “needs the funds to pay her family’s significant housing, litigation and educational expenses.” She claims that the paintings cannot be equitably divided because of the great disparity in their individual values.


Belinda also claims in her lawsuit that the family cannot share the works because there is just too much acrimony among them. That's probably one of the only things the Neumann family agrees on these days.


Your estate plan should always be designed to smooth over potential family conflicts, not stoke them. See a qualified estate planning attorney for guidance!

Panel Disucssion for Older Women, January 12

"Older Women: Sex, Health and Wealth"

Hear Attorney Adele Harris of The Karp Law Firm and other panelists discuss issues of importance to older women at this January 12 event presented by the National Organization for Women.

With Comedian Tim Conway Incapacitated, A Familiar Family Drama Unfolds

On November 2 a Los Angeles judge is scheduled to decide who will serve as guardian for Tim Conway: His wife of 33 years, Charlene, or his daughter from his first marriage, Kelly Fusco. The case has been postponed until then while Conway recovers from a September operation to alleviate water on the brain.


We of a "certain age" will remember Conway's hilarious performances on the long-running Carol Burnett Show. Unfortunately, at 84, Conway is no longer up to his old antics. He is suffering from severe dementia and according to reports, is now nonverbal.


Kelly has alleged that Charlene is not providing appropriate care for her father, and is concerned that Charlene will move him into a substandard facility, and out of the skilled nursing facility he resided in up until his surgery. That facility provides registered nurses around the clock as well as speech therapy for Conway's swallowing difficulties. Conway also has a personal 24-hour caregiver. According to reports, the cost was $24,000 per month.


"The reason I am trying to get conservatorship," Kelly has said, "is to make sure that my dad can live his life to the fullest... The person making decisions for his care must be competent. There are others around him that have only their best interest at heart and not my dad's. That's why I want to be the one in charge of his care."


Charlene has denied Kelly's allegations and says she does not intend to move her husband to a different facility. She also claims her husband signed a durable power of attorney and health care documents giving her sole authority as his decision maker. While the case is pending, Kelly has been blocked from seeing her father. She is one of six children from Conway's first marriage.


Longtime readers of this blog know that in cases of second marriages, legal struggles of this nature are not uncommon. When it unfolds in a celebrity's family, it makes headlines. In recent years I have written about similar conflicts in the family of musician Glen Campbell, radio personality Casey Kasem, comic book titan Stan Lee, entertainment mogul Sumner Redstone, and actor Peter Falk.


Planning for incapacity is important for everyone, but as headlines of this nature always demonstrate, even more so when a second marriage is part of the family dynamic. Make sure you consult an experienced estate planning attorney to minimize the chances of this unfortunate situation occurring in your family. 

Burt Reynolds Kept His Estate Planning Private With a Trust

Actor Burt Reynolds was raised in Riviera Beach, Florida, the son of a police chief. After an injury sidelined him from playing football at Florida State, he pursued acting. His career took off in the 1970s and he went on to star in over 200 movies, winning an Oscar for "Boogie Nights."

When Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown asked the charismatic hunk to pose nude for the magazine's centerfold, he agreed immediately. For that iconic 1972 photo, he put it all out there - well, almost - lounging on a bearskin rug. 

But privacy was important to the actor, at least as far as his estate plan goes. His died on September 6 following cardiac arrest at his Jupiter home. His will, signed in 2011, was filed in Florida probate court. It indicates all the actor's assets are in a trust for the benefit of his son Quinton, age 30. Unlike a will, a trust is a private document, which is among the many reasons for its popularity as an estate planning tool. The will states: "I intentionally omit him from this, my Last Will and Testament, as I have provided for him during my lifetime in my Declaration of Trust." 

The 82-year-old actor's net worth is rumored to be around $5 million, which doesn't sound like a great deal for someone whose celebrity spanned so many decades. Reynolds had a very public history of money woes. His investment in a restaurant chain put him millions of dollars in debt. At one point he bought a private helicopter and jet and had two pilots on standby at all times. He declared bankruptcy at least once. In a 2015 Vanity Fair interview, he said:  I've done well in terms of owning property and things like that. But I haven't been somebody who's been smart about his money."

Since the current federal estate tax exemption is $11.2 million, it is unlikely his estate will be affected by estate taxes. Florida has no estate tax.

Reynolds' will names his niece, Nancy Lee Brown, as personal representative, and his great nephew Brian Ritchey Brown and great niece Tracy Erin Rogers as back-ups.

Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Dies Intestate

Singer Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018. The 76-year-old "Queen of Soul" died at her Detroit home of pancreatic cancer, surrounded by family.

Winner of 18 Grammy awards and known for iconic songs like "Respect," Franklin was intensely private about her life and her finances. A 2016 New Yorker profile revealed that she asked for payment for a performance in cash, and would keep the money she received in a handbag onstage during her performance.

It looks like the era of privacy is over for Franklin and her family, because she died intestate (without a will). This past week, her sons Edward Franklin, Kecalf Cunningham and Ted White, and the guardian of her oldest son Clarence Franklin, filed papers in a Michigan Probate court indicating that their mother did not leave a will or trust. Her estate will be probated, and the details open to public inspection. 

The attorney who represented Franklin in her entertainment dealings, Don Wilson, has said that he repeatedly encouraged his client to create an estate plan, with no luck. "I was after her for a number of years to do a trust," he said. "It would have expedited things and kept them out of probate, and kept things private." Like many Americans, Franklin resisted dealing with the issue - even though she had plenty of time to do so after the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that would ultimately take her life.

In addition to opening up the family's finances to public view, Franklin's failure to plan opens the door to several other potential issues for the family: 

Estate taxes: Without tax planning, Uncle Sam likely gets a bigger bite of federal estate taxes than it would if she engaged in appropriate tax planning. This will leave less for her family. The current estate tax exemption for an individual is $11.2 million; the difference between that and the $80 million currently in her estate could be taxed up to 40%. 

Distribution of the estate: Michigan intestacy law will govern how Franklin's estate is divided. She was not married at the time of her death, so the estate will be divided equally among her four sons. This seems equitable on the surface, but may actually be a negative for her oldest son, Clarence, who has special needs and may require more money than his brothers. 

Royalties may complicate the estate: Franklin had rights to an extensive song catalog, so that $80 million is probably the tip of the iceberg. Managing the estate could get more complicated as time goes on.

Fortunately, it looks like Franklin's four sons get along well, so that's a good omen for the future. Of course, time will tell.

Please see a competent estate planning attorney to create your own estate plan, so that your family does not need to deal with unnecessary complications and loose ends when you are gone!

Estate Battle Continues Between Alan Thicke's Wife, Children

Blended family? Better pay close attention to your estate planning! Inheritance conflicts between stepparents and grown stepchildren are all too common. And since women tend to outlive men, it’s usually the stepmother at the center of the controversy. In his book, The Wolf At The Door: Undue Influence and Elder Financial Abuse, California attorney Michael Hackford notes that half of his probate litigation cases involve stepmothers and stepchildren. 

Over the years I’ve written about many such conflicts. Here’s an update on one: The estate of Alan Thicke, singer and star of TV's Growing Pains.  You can read my original blog post here.

Thicke died suddenly in 2016, leaving behind his third wife, Tanya Callau, and children from prior marriages. His trust named his two sons from a prior marriage, Robin and Brennan, as co-trustees. The children were to inherit the California ranch he and Callau lived on, but she would get to remain there so long as she maintained the property. His children would get over half of the remaining estate, while Callau would get the furnishings, her late husband's pensions and union death benefits,  half a million dollars in life insurance, and 40% of the remaining estate.

Without Thicke to hold the family together, and with co-trustees Robin and Brennan holding the purse strings, things started going off the legal rails almost immediately. As I noted in my prior blog post, Callau questioned the prenuptial she'd signed previously, alleging it did not properly distinguish between personal property and community property. Robin and Brennan went to court to block her right to challenge the prenup, but lost that legal battle last year.

More recently Callau filed papers accusing her stepsons of violating their fiduciary duties. She claims they are spending the estate assets recklessly, denying her her inheritance, not keeping her informed, and that she is being charged for taxes and other expenses that are not her responsibility. Among her specific complaints is that Thicke's sons refused to reimburse her for the cost of the monument she selected for her late husband's gravesite. This particularly irked her because his sons reportedly threw a pre-funeral memorial party for their father -- to the tune of $105,000. 

Callau's attorney, Adam Streisand, says: "America's dad would would be ashamed of his own sons who disgrace their father's legacy out of greed and resentment against the woman whose only crime was loving her husband with everything she had... the fact that Tanya still hasn't received her inheritance is unconscionable." 

No doubt more legal fireworks are ahead. If you are planning your estate and you too have a "blended family," remember that you may be more responsible than you realize for the peace in your family. When you're gone and money is at stake, relationships can suffer, so it's vital to make sure every "i" is dotted and every "t" is crossed in your estate plan. The Karp Law Firm attorneys can help.