After the untimely death of Glee star Cory Monteith, speculation has grown concerning the status of his estate. As a recent article explains, even young and healthy actors often have some sort of estate plan in place.
Typical young and healthy Americans do not consider estate planning because they believe that it can be put off until they have more money or a family. However, those in the entertainment industry often have advisors around who will encourage them to draft some sort of estate plan.
Most celebrities prefer to use trusts rather than wills. This is because, whereas the administration of a will is public and time consuming, a trust can be administered quickly and outside of the public eye. Whitney Houston, for example, created a trust before her untimely death at the age of 48. Under the terms of the trust, a trustee will be responsible for distributing the funds to Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
It is still unclear what, if any, type of estate plan that Monteith had in place. If Monteith did not leave any sort of estate planning documents in place, longtime girlfriend Lea Michele will likely get nothing, as state law would control, and state law does not provide for non-marital partners.
For assistance with preparing for and creating your estate plan, contact us at (626) 696-3145.
