Subscribe to this BlogMichael Jackson's estate of confusion
As the King of Pop, Michael Jackson was bound to have a complicated estate. But in the days following his tragic death last week, the biggest estate-planning hurdles have had nothing to do with the size and complexity of Jackson's legacy. They've been the bare-bones elements of estate planning: having an updated will, an appointed executor for the estate and a named guardian for minors.
Estate planning is all about change: Your plan has to evolve as you marry and divorce, have children, form and cut business ties, and accumulate assets and debt — all things that happened in Jackson's life (though, admittedly, on a very grand scale). You also have to make sure to share the details of your plan with at least one person that you trust. According to news reports, Jackson's latest will dates from seven years ago, but there is speculation about whether a more recent version exists.
If you think you need to update your estate plan, check out these recent Money stories here and here on what to do. You don't need to be a global pop icon with mega millions to warrant putting together a plan. As Jackson's death shows, an estate plan is critical if you have minors: It's the only way you, not the courts, can control who becomes the guardian of your children. Once drafted, you should revisit your estate plan every few years. Even if your circumstances haven't changed, new estate tax rules could upend your best-laid plans. Need to find an estate planning attorney? Look for one in your area through the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
I agree with most of the content of the article but it does not bring out the depth of why we have legal vehicles to guide us in crisis. Whether it is "Wills" or "Advance Directives" there needs to be one source that all direct parties have access to other than paper. Family, Attorney's, Physician's and friends if chosen should have direct access (electronic file)24/7. This way everyone is on the same page all the time. Decision making is difficult when crisis presents and facts and declared statements should be the guide. Michael had enough professional help that many of the questions being asked and debated should not exist.
Greg Gilbert/www.advancedirectivellc.com
I agree with some of the other comments. This article does not necessarily reflect what the link implies. Also, this article doesn't seem to even transition well from the implied subject matter into estate planning. Could be presented better so that I could have weeded out the fact that this ended up not being an article of interest for me….
OK, so this wasn't an in-depth article about the King of Pop. If you want that information, buy a 'Rag Mag' at the check-out at the grocery store. IF anyone read this brief article they would find that Jacko's will was 7 years old and as the author stated, wills should be reviewed every so often due to changes in a person's financial status or estate holdings and changes in estate tax laws.
Considering the fact that a lot of people don't even have wills, this was a great reminder to those of us who do; to revisit our wills and make changes when necessary.
I hope Caroly Bigda wasn't paid more than two cents for this article. Not even sure it was worth that much.
Was this article written by a high school student with aspirations of entering journalism? The most interesting part of the article was the (entirely misleading) subject.
This is great advice for everyone. Your readers may be interested in some of the more interesting legal implications raised by the deaths Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett by reading Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett: Estate Plan Wake Up Call by visiting my blog at wttp://frommtaxes.wordpress.com
Hope this helps your readers
In reading the article title, I had expected it to have information on Jackson's estate. Not only did it not have that information, it barley had any information at all. Was this just a filler?
This story almost reads like an infomerial for the American Academy of Estate Planning. Most people only need a will you can get for well under a $100 on line or for some software. Doing a will yourself forces you to think about what you want vs. paying someone to write what they think you want. I will take my thinking over that of a lawyer, aided by the software available today!
why does this writer get paid? There is no substance to the article. A 7 year old will…that is the story?
Although the article is relatively content free its message is clear, estate planning and wills are not a one off activity they should be reviewed periodically and it should be made sure they are still achieving what you want them to achieve.
Regards
Will