One would assume that celebrities who, typically, have valuable estates would have a well thought out estate plan in place. Of course, we all know what they say about making assumptions as well. Consider these celebrities whose estate planning mistake was not planning at all:
Jimi Hendrix — arguably the greatest guitar player that ever lived, Hendrix died at age 27 without leaving behind even a Last Will and Testament. State intestacy laws gave his entire estate to his father, leaving nothing to his brother Leon with whom Hendrix was said to be very close.
Sony Bono—the less famous half of Sony & Cher, Bono went on to a career in politics when the duo broke up. Bono died at age 62 with no Will. Among the many complications that followed was the appearance of a love child who claimed to be an heir of the estate.
Steve McNair – the well-known quarterback was killed by a girlfriend and left behind no estate planning documents. As a result, his mother was displaced from the home he bought for her and his wife and children were faced with an enormous tax bill.
Although it seems unlikely that these very public, and very wealthy, individuals never sat down and created even a basic Last Will and Testament, the fact is that they did not. We will never know why they did not take the time to create an estate plan; however, we do know that their loved ones suffered the consequences.
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