“Under Pressure.” These two words were said by the iconic David Bowie along with Queen singer, Freddie Mercury. Sadly, Bowie died back on January 20, 2016 from liver cancer at the age of 69 in Manhattan, New York City. Many celebrities, including Kanye West and Madonna, reacted with deep sorrow because they had lost the “Chameleon of Rock.” Bowie’s legacy still lives on through his children, Lexi and Duncan, along with his wife and now widow, Iman.
Bowie, initially, left the rest of his residuary estate and the remainder of Iman’s trust to Duncan and Lexi. Lexi was also subjected to her own separate trust until the age of 25. After the age of 25, she would be able to possess all the trusts assets. In the case of Iman’s trust, it did qualify for a full marital deduction, which created Bowie’s estate taxes that were to be managed by the children’s shares of the residuary estate.
Even though Bowie was iconic, his estate plan did suffer some consequences. With the $100 million value of his estate, Bowie did not create lifetime trusts that would have benefited his children. If he had created that trust, his children would have been protected from creditors for either his or her lifetime. It would have also given Bowie the power to use his full GST exemption. Since he did not achieve this step, both Lexi and Duncan did not have a special power of appointment over the trust.
One other mistake that David Bowie made in his estate plan was that he did not institute the decanting procedure, which an authorized trustee, not the grantor, transfers assets from one trust into another trust which contains the necessary changes that will achieve the intended purpose. Since he did not use this process, Iman’s trust could not be transferred from one to another.
When creating an estate plan, make sure to use the decanting process. The decanting process can be a powerful tool for post- mortem estate planning and should always be considered whenever testamentary trusts are created. Don’t be under pressure! Create your estate plan today!
Michelle Profit is an estate planning attorney serving Maryland and the District of Columbia. A Harvard Law School graduate, she has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years. A dedicated advocate for all of her clients, Michelle Q. Profit personally handles each client case from start to finish to meet the client’s needs and objectives. Michelle listens in the consultation sessions and works with any other client accountants or financial planners to create a comprehensive estate plan.
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the beloved series, Star Trek, had the intuition of a creative mastermind. Although he passed away back in 1991, his legacy lives on. A normal burial was exactly the opposite of what Roddenberry imagined. The celestial burial is exactly what he wanted, which was not normal whatsoever. His wishes, however, were carried out by his wife Mrs. Majel Barrett Roddenberry in 1997 when a portion of his cremated ashes were shipped in a space capsule by Celestis Incorporated, which specializes in memorial spaceflights.
John Lennon, a beloved songwriter and singer from the band The Beatles’, was murdered tragically at the age of 40 in 1980. John Lennon always had the motivation to change the world and to imagine a life without destruction. With the backup support from his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon became a voice for the people of the world. Instead of naturally giving his son Julian full control over his estate like he did at first, Yoko Ono got full control over Lennon’s original song rights and his image. Unfortunately, Lennon’s estate plan became sad just like a ballad due to his son Julian’s fury over his estate. Sixteen years after Lennon had passed away, Julian sued Ono for a larger part of his father’s estate. Eventually, it was settled completely in 1996 and Julian received 20 million in English pounds after the long and limitless legal battle versus Yoko Ono. Some of the lessons that can be learned from Lennon’s estate plan include: Don’t leave your children out of will, Create Steps in order to make sure each one of your heirs receives their part, and Create an Additional Trust just in case your child gets left out. By using this advice, you can avoid family feuds and will be able to make sure your estate plan is executed smoothly.
Paul Walker, an actor in the movie franchise Fast and Furious, sadly died at age 40 in a car accident. Besides being part of on of the greatest movie franchises every produced, Walker made the smart move of creating an estate plan unlike other celebrities like Prince and Amy Winehouse, who didn’t have a pleasant ending with probate court. Besides creating an estate plan, there were also lessons to be learned from his estate plan. These lessons include: Trusts can be useful, Trusts need to be fully funded during your lifetime to be the most effective, It is important to name a guardian if you have minor children, Start your estate planning early, and Estate plans should definitely be updated. When I say that Trusts can be useful, it means that a trust is an estate-planning tool that goes beyond a normal will. In Paul Walker’s case, he did have one. By having a trust, you can take control of your asset distribution and avoid going to probate court. When you create a trust, make sure you have a good estate- planning attorney. By the fact that Trusts need to be fully funded during your lifetime to be the most effective, don’t make the mistake that Paul Walker did which is have $25 million in assets without funding his trust. When it comes down to the Importance of Naming a Guardian, especially if you have minor children, it is crucial. If you don’t have a guardian set in place in your will, then the probate court decides. Also, by Starting an Estate Plan early, you can avoid the risk of having no will at the end. According to an article by Martison and Beason, “Creating a will and other estate planning documents is not only for the elderly. In fact, you can start right now. The last crucial lesson that should be taken into account when creating an estate plan is that Your Estate Plan should be updated. If your net worth of the estate either increases or decreases, make sure than your estate plan includes those facts. If you follow these steps, you are guaranteed to have a successful and well thought out estate plan.