The Jim Morrison legacy has endured because of the quality of The Doors’ music and the mystique surrounding his persona. He enjoyed meteoric success, but he could not overcome his personal demons, and he passed away at the age of 27 in Paris, France on July 3, 1971.
Jim Morrison’s Will
A lot of people assume that someone with a freewheeling lifestyle like Morrison would not have a will in place when he was in his 20s, but this is not the case. He despised his parents, and he left everything to his girlfriend, Pamela Courson, but there was a stipulation.
She had a serious drug problem, and he thought that she might not live for very long if he predeceased her. To account for this, he stipulated that his brother and sister would be the heirs to the estate if she did not live for at least 90 days after his passing.
Courson lived for two years after Morrison’s death, so she did have a claim to the inheritance, and the court determined she was actually his common-law wife. She was the legal inheritor, but when she died, she did not have a will in place.
As a result, her parents were the heirs to her estate under the intestate succession laws. Predictably, Morrison’s parents were not on the same page, and they filed a lawsuit.
A settlement agreement was reached eventually, and they divided the existing resources and the rights to ongoing royalties.
Estate Tax Implications
Wealthy people can be exposed to the federal estate tax, and Jim Morrison was certainly in this category. Because he took no steps to position his assets in a tax-efficient manner, his estate was subject to maximum taxation.
If he had worked with an attorney to develop a proper estate plan, he could have used an irrevocable trust to gain estate tax efficiency. Plus, he could have spelled out his wishes with regard to the distribution of his assets in the event of Courson’s death.
Loss of Privacy
Why do you think that this information is available to the general public? When a will is used, it is admitted to probate, and the court provides supervision during the administration process.
This is a public proceeding, so anyone who is interested can access the records. If you apply this to your own estate plan, the loss of privacy is probably disconcerting to you.
Living Trust
It is possible to facilitate asset transfers outside of probate, and a living trust is the widely utilized probate avoidance solution.
When you establish this type of trust, you would act as the trustee, so you would retain control of the assets. It would be a revocable trust, so you could dissolve the trust entirely if you ever choose to do so.
You would name a successor trustee to assume the role after your death, and your heirs would be the beneficiaries. When the time comes, the trustee will distribute assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with your wishes outside of probate.
This is a very appealing benefit, and there are a number of others that we will explain in a future post.
Attend a Free Seminar or Webinar!
We make an effort to provide educational opportunities through our seminars. There is no charge to attend these events, and you don’t have to go anywhere to join us, so this is a great way to spend a bit of spare time.
You can see the dates and obtain more information if you visit our estate planning seminar page.
In addition to the live seminars, we have another avenue that you can explore. We have recorded a number of webinars that we have conducted, and they cover some very important topics.
They can be accessed free of charge, and you can head over to our webinar page to learn more.
Need Help Now?
If you already know that you should work with a Phoenix, AZ estate planning lawyer to put a plan in place, there is no time like the present. You can send us a message to set up a consultation appointment, we can be reached by phone at 888-222-1328.
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