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August Review: Newman, Monroe, Prince, Puzio

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August

September is almost here, which means it’s time to look back at the past month’s developments in elder law. For the August review:

August Review: Celeb Estates

There’s more celebrity estates news than we’ve can ever recall seeing in a single month. We already wrote about Anne Heche’s tragic death, and here are more celeb estates making headlines this month.

Actors

Two of Paul Newman’s kids have had it. One of them has complained to the media about Newman’s Own Foundation before. Now a lawsuit alleges that the Foundation wrongfully decreased mandatory distributions to entities they control. The Foundation says the lawsuit has no merit.

The family of Edie McClurg, who starred in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, is in an interesting legal tussle with her male “friend.” Edie has dementia, and her cousin is her guardian and conservator. It appears that she is asking the court to let her kick Edie’s 76-year-old live-in companion to the curb.

There’s apparently controversy over the casting of Cuban actress Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s movie Blonde. Critics who’ve seen an early trailer say Armas’s Spanish accent is a distraction. But Monroe’s estate is 100% in support, telling Variety: “Any actor that steps into that role knows they have big shoes to fill. Based on the trailer alone, it looks like Ana was a great casting choice as she captures Marilyn’s glamour, humanity and vulnerability. We can’t wait to see the film in its entirety!” It premieres on Netflix Sept. 28.

Musicians

After six years, the Prince estate has been settled. We think that’s pretty quick considering there was no will, six heirs, and many issues to resolve. The Court approved a plan of distribution. It includes $6 million in cash and music rights to be divided among an entity controlled by three heirs and another Primary Wave, an entity that purchased shares from the three other heirs. One point of interest: Comerica, which is administering the estate, is retaining $3 million to wrap up the estate. One dispute resolved before the deal: The maker of Prince’s famous cloud guitar gets to keep making them.

Tupac Shakur’s estate is wrangling over artwork from the cover of his 1996 album. The artist says it’s his, and it was auctioned, along with an NFT of it, for $212,500. The estate is still trying to recover it.

Selena died in 1995, but that can’t stop the music. Her estate announced that a new album, Moonchild Mixes, is coming out at the end of the month. It reportedly includes digitally altered vocals that Selena recorded as a teenager. It’s the twenty-fourth posthumous Selena album.

Authors

Here’s your chance to collect an item owned by Joan Didion and her late husband, John Gregory Dunne. Stair Galleries is hosting the “An American Icon: Property From the Collection of Joan Didion.” Among items up for grabs: fine art, home decor, furniture, and books. An auction catalog is due October 31, a gallery exhibition in Hudson, New York following on November 4, and the auction itself November 16. Proceeds will be donated to yet-to-be-announced charities.

Godfather author Mario Puzio’s estate has signed on with talent agency APA. APA aims to sell Puzio works for movies and streaming miniseries. The author’s son, Tony told the Hollywood Reporter: “Mario Puzo created legendary characters and stories, and there is more to mine from his incredible novels that, in the right hands, will fascinate audiences. APA has a great track record of partnering with talent and getting stories on screen, and we’re excited for this next chapter of my father’s work.”

Artists

What happens when art is discovered and promoted for decades by someone who has no right to it and it turns out to have value? In the case of Henry Darger, a lawsuit might help decide. Darger’s heirs – distant relatives – and his former landlords are on opposite sides. The Lerners were Darger’s landlords from the ‘50s till his death in 1973 and have promoted his work ever since. The heirs now have obtained legal authority to administer the estate, and they’re trying to claw the art back, along with profits and damages.

Estate Planning & Taxes

We’re lawyers, so we think that everyone should hire an attorney to create an estate plan, but this piece outlines three good reasons: help prevent mistakes, help create a smarter plan, and help choose an appropriate fiduciary.

That plan might include a pot trust (which might be “the fairest trust structure of them all”) or a grantor trust (here’s how those work) or or leaving assets to a charity.

That plan also might include a discussion of how to divide up assets among heirs – and keep them happy. This article gives some good tips. One of them is to communicate, not blab about your plan, but find out what your loved ones care about and consider it. Our favorite part of the article, though, is a comment. One reader shared his creative approach to gifting during lifetime: “Last year we had the most fun Christmas ever. We prepared a “Deal or No Deal” board for each of our three kids. Top prize was $30k for each. After much anxiety, nervousness, indecision and laughter they each ended the game with a nice prize. But then we wrote them checks for the top prize with the caveat that each should do something they have wanted to do for awhile. One built an outdoor kitchen/entertainment area, another remodeled their outdated master bath bath….and the third built his own RV. It was fun to see it all happen rather than leave them the money when we die!”

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act left his ambitious plans to alter the estate tax landscape untouched.

In case you wondered whether writing deathbed checks will remove assets from an estate, a new tax court decision says, “It depends.”

August Review: Miscellany

Are you interested in becoming an estate planning attorney? Here’s how.

When an estate is administered via the probate process, there are always two sets of players: the executor (called personal representative in Arizona) and the beneficiaries. Being an executor is optional, and this piece runs down the requirements and challenges. It’s good to read it before you sign up. Being a beneficiary also is optional, though few decide to decline an inheritance. This story is a decent overview (“The probate process can be opaque: Prepare to be frustrated”), though many of the specifics don’t apply in every jurisdiction.

We all want to preserve our cognition as we age. New research indicates that prolonged loneliness is an important risk factor; certain everyday activities can reduce risk; and although sedentary behavior is a risk, what you do while you are sitting matters.

Research shows that dogs’ cognition declines as they age, too. In some cases, they can suffer from canine cognitive dysfunction, or CCD. Symptoms include sleep disruption, loss of spatial awareness, and unusual social behaviors. Researchers say that it appears that, at a certain point, cognitive decline becomes inevitable: “We find once they get up to 15, we have yet to see a dog that is normal.”

 

 

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Robert B. Fleming

Attorney

Robert Fleming is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He has been certified as a Specialist in Estate and Trust Law by the State Bar of Arizona‘s Board of Legal Specialization, and he is also a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Robert has a long history of involvement in local, state and national organizations. He is most proud of his instrumental involvement in the Special Needs Alliance, the premier national organization for lawyers dealing with special needs trusts and planning.

Robert has two adult children, two young grandchildren and a wife of over fifty years. He is devoted to all of them. He is also very fond of Rosalind Franklin (his office companion corgi), and his homebound cat Muninn. He just likes people, their pets and their stories.

Elizabeth N.R. Friman

Attorney

Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman is a principal and licensed fiduciary at Fleming & Curti, PLC. Elizabeth enjoys estate planning and helping families navigate trust and probate administrations. She is passionate about the fiduciary work that she performs as a trustee, personal representative, guardian, and conservator. Elizabeth works with CPAs, financial professionals, case managers, and medical providers to tailor solutions to complex family challenges. Elizabeth is often called upon to serve as a neutral party so that families can avoid protracted legal conflict. Elizabeth relies on the expertise of her team at Fleming & Curti, and as the Firm approaches its third decade, she is proud of the culture of care and consideration that the Firm embodies. Finding workable solutions to sensitive and complex family challenges is something that Elizabeth and the Fleming & Curti team do well.

Amy F. Matheson

Attorney

Amy Farrell Matheson has worked as an attorney at Fleming & Curti since 2006. A member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, she is primarily responsible for estate planning and probate matters.

Amy graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in political science and English. She is an honors graduate of Suffolk University Law School and has been admitted to practice in Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Fleming & Curti, Amy worked for American Public Television in Boston, and with the international trade group at White & Case, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Amy’s husband, Tom, is an astronomer at NOIRLab and the Head of Time Domain Services, whose main project is ANTARES. Sadly, this does not involve actual time travel. Amy’s twin daughters are high school students; Finn, her Irish Red and White Setter, remains a puppy at heart.

Famous people's wills

Matthew M. Mansour

Attorney

Matthew is a law clerk who recently earned his law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. His undergraduate degree is in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Matthew has had a passion for advocacy in the Tucson community since his time as a law student representative in the Workers’ Rights Clinic. He also has worked in both the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the Pima County Public Defender’s Office. He enjoys playing basketball, caring for his cat, and listening to audiobooks narrated by the authors.