Posted on 08/31/2018 7:51:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, will be laid to rest Friday in Detroit. She left behind a glorious legacy of music and inspiration. What she did not leave behind was a will detailing her wishes for her assets. By not writing a will, she triggered a process in which her property and money will go through probate.
And that's a lot of property and money. Her estate is worth over $80 million, according to gobankingrates.com. It will have to go through the potentially expensive and time-consuming bottleneck that probate court can be on its way to being divided among Franklin's four children.
But probate is not a problem just for the rich and famous. Writing a will is just as important for middle-income and moderately wealthy people. Without a will, your assets will get dished out according to state rules, which may not jibe with your desires. And the process will eat up time and money.
"Two of the biggest drawbacks to dying without a will are the costs and potential lack of following one's true wishes," said Jeff Carbone, co-founder and managing partner of Cornerstone Financial Partners in Charlotte, N.C.
Frank Moscardini, a partner in Shimanovsky & Moscardini in Chicago, said, "A will often eliminates confusion amongst your family by spelling out your wishes."
And probate is common, with 50% of all U.S. estates going that route, which the estate of Aretha Franklin now is poised to navigate.
Basically, only assets that were jointly owned with someone else and assets dished out to financial account beneficiaries will likely escape those delays and expenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I think that in the case of Prince and Aretha Franklin, it was easier for them to let the court decide who gets what. That way any hurt feelings are the courts’ problem, not hers.
More than likely it would have ended up in court anyway.
My best friend lost about 90% of her estate to a greedy sister.
I think they did have a will, too, but the sister challenged everything and the defense for the challenges came out of the estate until there was nothing left.
And they could have had a decent settlement each.
“Two of the biggest drawbacks to dying without a will are the costs and potential lack of following one’s true wishes,”
NOT true in PA, die with or without a Will the cost is the same. Albeit it may not be your true wishes.
there can always be fights among heirs. But in her case her children are her intestate heirs. nothing to fight over in terms of who are the beneficiaries. Unlike in the Prince case where everyone could claim being a child of Prince
TOD and named beneficiaries is not always the answer.
My mom put her house in a lady bird deed. Too many kids to make it go smoothly, but she tried and we settled it without lawyers. I”m now on a 2 year break from the sister that cried her way to a bargain basement sale of the house.
I put my house in a lady bird deed also. I did that right after the cancer diagnosis. Now when stuff is done around my house by our boys, I let them make the decisions...we laughinly refer to decisions needing to be made by “current homeowner (me)’ and “future homeowners (them). It’s a big relief. Best part is, I did it myself, all I had to pay were filing fees at the registrar’s office.
Do some of these ‘mega-stars’ have some loose screws or are they just getting back at families they never liked?
Really? Is that new? Previously you couldn’t. Thanks for letting me know.
There is no reason to have a will if you are never going to die. That’s why some people don’t have wills. It’s like begging death to come to your door.
I know several people who think like this.
And witnessed. Also wouldn’t hurt to have it notarized.
Being of sound mind, I spent it all...
Yes I think it has been only a couple of years that one could do the TOD for property in WA. Sure makes estate planning much easier!
Do you know if they included vehicles for TOD in State of Washington?
I had a relative of my wife living with us. Died suddenly, no will. All her bills were received electronically, and we didn’t have the password to her PC. Messy.
We wrote our will when we had little kiddo’s, to designate guardians and trustees for them. They were and still are the real treasures to be cared for if something dire happened to both of us.
I always liked the short will the old codger left,
Being of sound mind, I spent it all...
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Funny!
Thank you, Jane.
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