Looking at the deaths of some famous actors gives a glimpse into the way they used — or failed to use — estate planning strategies.
Here are some examples as outlined in an article in Forbes.
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1) Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He made many mistakes with his estate including no estate tax planning and a failure to use a revocable living trust. However, he did some things right, including language in his will asking that his son be raised in Manhattan, San Francisco or Chicago or at least visit those cities twice a year so he could be exposed to the culture each of those cities has to offer.
2) Liz Taylor. She did proper estate planning. She created a trust and funded it with her assets and it left most of her money to her children, grandchildren and charities including AIDS research. But the details remain private because she had a revokable living trust which remains outside the probate system.
3) Heath Ledger. His will had not been updated. It left everything to his parents and sisters despite the fact that he had a daughter who was born after the will was written. However, he did have a life insurance policy that named his daughter as beneficiary.
4) Frank Sinatra. He planned ahead to avoid family fights. His will prohibited any family members from contesting any of its provisions in court or they would be disinherited.
5) Marlin Brando. He made many verbal promises to people that were not listed in his will. As a result, there were many court fights after his death. They all got settled, but nobody was happy.
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