According to a New York Times article, dated April 26,2016, Prince died without a will. Why did this multimillionaire die without a will? If he died without a will, are there going to be problems with his probate or estate?
Prince’s Probate Problems
- Most Florida estate planning attorneys or probate lawyers will tell you that dying without a will may not be in your best interest.
- This is because dying without a will leaves everything in the hands of the court and your estate will be dispersed according to the state’s intestacy laws or the probate laws.
- Most people want to designate specific inheritances for specific beneficiaries or heirs.
- However, it seems as if Prince didn’t take the necessary steps to make this happen.
- Instead, his estate will pass according to the laws of the state he lived in when he died, which was Minnesota.
- Can you avoid Prince’s probate problems?
- Yes you can but, the truth is, that we don’t really know the extent of Prince’s probate problems yet.
- At first blush, dying without a will doesn’t seem to make sense, especially for someone who was so wealthy and probably had access to the very best lawyers.
- Currently, it is unknown as to whether Prince had a revocable trust, living trust or any offshore trust.
- In addition, he could have used a corporation to control his wealth.
- Perhaps, he also had family members controlling accounts or inheriting assets outside of probate.
- Florida estate planning attorneys or probate litigators West Palm Beach will tell you that there are some easy things you can do to avoid the problems that are present in rock star Prince’s probate.
- First, you should have a will.
- Having a will, even if it’s a simple will that leaves everything to your revocable trust, is better than having no will.
- Second, you should think about creating a revocable or living trust.
- These trusts can dispose of assets after you are gone, much like a will does.
- They can also protect you and your property if , during your lifetime, you become incapacitated or in need of a guardianship.
- In fact, most guardianship attorneys Boca Raton will tell you that you may be able to avoid a Florida guardianship if you have a properly drafted revocable trust.
- Two other things that you should consider having are a durable power of attorney and healthcare documents.
- The healthcare documents should specify who you want to make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself.
- Currently, in regards to Prince’s estate, we don’t know if he had any property held as joint property or if he had beneficiary designations or will substitutes that would pass outside of probate.
- Probate litigators West Palm Beach are looking forward to learning more about Prince’s estate, how much he was worth, and who will inherit from it.Want to know more about Florida probate litigation? Consider these free resources:
- Read the Florida Courts webpage on the probate process:http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/family-courts/family-law-self-help-information/probate.stml
- Read the Florida Probate Code:http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Read the Florida Probate Rules:https://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Here are the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar if you are interested in hiring a Florida probate litigation lawyer and want to know more about our ethical rules and our rules of conduct:http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/WContents?OpenView
- Here are the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure:http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Watch free Florida Trust, Probate & Guardianship videos, which include important topics of Florida estate, guardianship, attorneys fees, & trust law.
- There is no cost, no sign up, no one will ask you for your email address to see these dozens of free Florida probate videos:http://www.pankauskilawfirm.
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