Recently, sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead, allegedly by suicide.  A number of people have raised questions what this means for his estate and the victims.  At this time, there are more questions than answers.  This is due to the extreme complexity of Epstein’s estate.  It would be spread out over at least three...Read More

“Mad, bad and dangerous to know. That was him and that was me.”  Speaking about himself and Lord Byron, Dylan McKay was the coolest guy at West Beverly High School and teen idol for an entire generation of teenagers in the 90’s.  Played by actor Luke Perry in the long-running show Beverly Hills, 90210, his...Read More

When Green Book was released and subsequently won the Oscar for Best Picture, Don Shirley’s story finally became widely known to the public.  But who really knew Don Shirley? Was it his family, who claimed the movie was a “symphony of lies”, or was it the sole heir and executor of his estate, a Dutch...Read More

As you likely already know, the great Aretha Franklin, known as the Queen of Soul, passed away on August 16th, 2018 at her home in Detroit, Michigan. Her greatest hits – “Respect”, “A Natural Woman”, “Chain of Fools”, defined her as a modern woman and brought the fervor of gospel music to secular songs. With...Read More

David Cassidy, known as Keith Partridge in the popular show The Partridge Family and a teen heartthrob in the 1970s, died of organ failure in Fort Lauderdale on November 21, 2017 at the age of 67. He had been hospitalized with liver and kidney failure the week prior to his death and passed away surrounded...Read More

When a person dies who does not have a will the probate court must manage his or her estate. Without making a will the person is said to have died “intestate”.  Simply put, the court, according to the laws of each particular state, decides who shall receive outright your personal belongings and money. But there...Read More

A good friend recently brought to my attention the story of the “Tractor Will.” In 1948, a man in Saskatchewan carved out his will in the fender of a tractor using a pocket knife. According to witnesses, Cecil George Harris was trapped underneath his tractor for over 10 hours during a winter storm. His short...Read More

As an attorney who works in the Trust and Estate field, I frequently run across the question of why someone should pay an attorney to do their Estate Plan. After all, a professionally done will, trust, or other estate planning document can cost between several hundred to thousands of dollars. Is it really worth it?...Read More