Published on: 3rd December 2018

High profile consequences of not making or updating a Will

Actor Heath Ledger made a Will in 2003 leaving all of his estate to his mother, father and sisters. In 2005 Heath had a daughter, Matilda Rose. Heath did not update his Will, so when he died in 2008 his Will did not provide for Matilda Rose. In 1993, 25 years after his death, Martin Luther King's family were still suing each other for various reasons; but the disagreements started because King had not made a Will.

Singer/songwriter Barry White did not make a Will. His second wife claimed his estate. But they had been separated for a number of years. White's girlfriend sued his wife. Barianna was the alleged child of White and his girlfriend. But a paternity test proved otherwise. The girlfriend's claim failed.

Bob Marley's family fought over his estate for many years. It seems there was no Will created by Marley but plenty of stories alleging that one was forged.

Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain, left chaos behind when he died in 1994. His wife and daughter had to fight each other over his estate worth some £300 million.

Rock icon James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix did not draft a will before his untimely, conspiracy-laden death in 1970. As a result, his father Al Hendrix had control over his £60 million estate until he died in 2002. At that point, family drama erupted. Since the majority of the estate went to Janie (Al's adopted daughter), Leon Hendrix had no control over his late brother's assets. The two relatives reportedly battled over trademark and copyright issues for years until they finally reached a settlement in 2015.

Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in films such as 'Capote' and 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'. The Oscar-winning actor wrote a will 10 years prior to his death, reportedly leaving his estate to his girlfriend Marianne O'Donnell. Hoffman, who claimed that he didn't want "trust fund kids", included a stipulation in his will saying that his son Cooper would have access to a trust fund if his mother died before Hoffman did. Otherwise, he would get half of his inheritance at age 25 and the other half at age 30. Hoffman, however, never updated his Will to include the two daughters he had with O'Donnell.

Aretha Franklin died earlier this year. It appears that she did not make a Will. Distribution of her estate could be contested with no R-E-S-P-E-C-T shown by those involved.

It seems that many famous celebrities never find the time to make a Will or keep their existing Will up to date; often with disastrous and costly consequences. Casey & Associates offers home visits so that disruption to your busy schedule is minimised.

f you would like to meet with one of our Consultants to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other Estate Planning topic please telephone 01732 868190 or click here. Don't delay ~ Act today!

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