January 9, 2018

The deaths of icons Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Prince rocked the world, but unfortunately, left their families burdened and broken-hearted with estate taxes and fees. Despite having professionals to help with practically every aspect of their lives, none of these artists had a total estate plan, which ultimately ended up costing their heirs millions of dollars and what would have otherwise been avoidable taxes and legal fees. 

An estate plan is crucial for the peaceful transfer of assets from your generation to the next. However, even if your estate doesn’t include things like private amusement parks or music rights, there are still takeaways from these artists’ situations to avoid the same costly mistakes. Even though Prince, for example, had paid all necessary taxes without audits from the IRS and had appropriately valued assets, he left no will when he died.

This means that more than 45 people ultimately came forward claiming to be heirs, including nieces, half siblings, siblings and supposed children, which cost the estate tremendous amounts in legal fees to investigate this and respond to it. In order to avoid these challenges, schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney, regardless of the size of your estate. You can get your own peace of mind and ensure that your beneficiaries receive the assets to which they are entitled well in advanced.