Maryland residents can look to celebrities as examples when it comes to how they would like to carry out certain aspects of their lives. While this type of admiration and inspiration is not necessarily a negative idea, individuals may want to remember what they consider important in their own lives. This idea may be especially useful when it comes to creating an estate plan for eventual probate administration.
When it comes to celebrity estate planning, most information in the news relates to mistakes that certain celebrities have made and how those mistakes have impacted their surviving family. Over the course of numerous years, wealthy celebrities have either not planned enough, failed to update plans or attempted to create plans on their own that simply did not cover necessary estate aspects. Any of these oversights could have substantial impacts.
When such mistakes are made — such as Prince’s failure to create a will or Heath Ledgers lack of updates to include his daughter in his plans — estate administration can become extremely complex. The court will have to review various aspects of the person’s life and how his or her family may fit into the situation. As a result, the process can become more drawn out and confusing.
Though probate is a necessary step for validating a will and handling estates that did not have wills, individuals may wish to use celebrity mistakes when it comes to estate planning as examples of what to avoid. Rather than risking making probate administration more difficult on surviving family, Maryland residents may wish to create plans to the best of their abilities. Experienced attorneys can help individuals looking for assistance ensure that their plans encompass their desired wishes.
Source: nhregister.com, “CONNECTICUT MONEY: Even celebrities fail at estate planning“, Eric Tashlein, June 24, 2017
