Inadvertently Omitting a Child
Michael Critchton. The famous author was survived by his fifth wife, who was pregnant. His will didn’t anticipate the birth of his son after his death. His daughter from a previous marriage tried to exclude the son from the estate. State statutes have provisions for heirs inadvertently omitted from wills or trusts. However, the language of his will specifically overrode the statute and excluded any heirs not mentioned in the will.
Heath Ledger. Mr. Ledger failed to update an old will created before his daughter was born. As a result, his $20 million estate went to his parents and three sisters. Fortunately, they gave everything to his daughter.
Ambiguous Language
James Brown. Mr. Brown left copyrights to his music to an educational foundation. He left his tangible assets to his children and $2 million to educate his grandchildren. Unfortunately, the ambiguous wording in his estate plan subjected his estate to a six-year lawsuit by his girlfriend and her children.
Having an Insufficient Plan
Marilyn Monroe. Ms. Monroe had a will but not a trust. About 50% of her estate went to estate taxes, and the rest was drug through probate court for 39 years. Three-quarters of her estate went to a friend who died a few years after Marilyn and then to his widow, who proceeded to sell and monetize everything about Marilyn. The woman made 30 to 40 million dollars from Marilyn’s estate.
Using a Holographic Will
A holographic will is a handwritten and unwitnessed will. Some states, like Colorado, will accept them should they meet the legal standards requiring the handwritten will to be valid.
Larry King. Mr. King died in January 2021 and was worth an estimated $144 million. Given his wealth and the fact that he was married eight times to seven different women, he needed a comprehensive plan. Mr. King was in the middle of a divorce from his last wife, Shawn. Unfortunately, he left a one-page, two-paragraph holographic/handwritten will. The will left his estate equally to his five children, two of whom predeceased him after the will was written. His estranged wife, Shawn, claimed the will was written under questionable circumstances, including his mental capacity when he signed the will. In addition to pending litigation over his estate, Shawn filed a lawsuit on October 7, 2022, against his business managers, alleging that they conspired with Mr. King’s son to divest her from the estate.