All you can do is learn from other people’s mistakes.
I, like so many others, adored Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul’s songs dominate several of my iTunes playlists. When someone makes me mad, I play her version of “Respect.”
But I lost a little respect for her financial acumen when a recent court filing in Michigan by her four sons revealed that Franklin, who died Aug. 16 at 76, didn’t have a will.
Mouths dropped when it was discovered that the legendary musician Prince, who died in 2016, didn’t have a will either. His lack of planning has led to multiple claims against his multimillion-dollar estate.
The fact that people who made money didn’t take some of their earnings and do some estate planning leads me to the conclusion that it’s not about the money. These stars — even if they died broke — at some point had enough cash to hire an attorney and get even the most basic will written. So why didn’t they?
Franklin and Prince and so many others like them had to know that — because of their celebrated status — their name, music or likeness would be worth something after they die.
What are we to conclude about the lack of estate planning among the rich and famous?
I believe they just didn’t care enough that their death would leave behind a legal mess.
With no will, you die “intestate,” and this means the state dictates how your assets will be distributed. Is that what you want?
Gallup conducted a poll two weeks after Prince died. The results were troubling — an overwhelming majority of Americans don’t have a will.
Only 44 percent of survey respondents said they had a will that dictated how they wanted their assets handled after their death.
The share of Americans who have a will has been trending downward. In 2005, it was 51 percent, according to Gallup.
The older you are — and the more income you have — influences whether you have a will. People 65 or older were more likely to have a will — 68 percent compared with 14 percent for those younger than 30, Gallup found. This makes sense.
Yet, for younger adults who are already married or have children, it doesn’t make sense. Especially if you have kids, there is much more at stake in terms of who will care for them and with what money.
Fifty-five percent of people with an annual income of $75,000 or more said they had a will. This percentage should be so much higher, because the more you make, the more your estate might be worth, and this increases the likelihood people will fight over your stuff — even a relatively modest amount. When heirs end up in protracted legal proceedings, it erodes the value of an estate.
So, let me ask you one question: Do you love your children/family? Because if you care about their well-being, and you want to minimize the drama after you die, you need a will.
— Washington Post
Writers Group
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