Dear Readers: The following question and answer were published in 2019 and I am now updating it and providing an update regarding the Aretha Franklin estate battle.

Q I read with interest the article in the Monterey Herald about the Aretha Franklin will situation. How can someone with so much money and fame not be sure her estate planning is in order? My wife and I have much less and still endured the pain and cost of setting everything up so there will be no problems when we die.

A Sadly, many famous people have died leaving no will at all. Some of these include Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Howard Hughes (now that’s a fortune at stake), Salvatore Phillip “Sonny” Bono, Abraham Lincoln and the artist known as Prince. Aretha Franklin left two wills, both informal and handwritten. One was found under her couch cushion months after her death and the other in a locked cabinet.

In the Franklin case, the estimated legal costs to date exceed $900,000. Just an example of why taking the time now to formalize your planning is crucial and I commend you for preparing a clearly written plan for your estate. It is not a fun project, but it can save a great deal of heartache for your family along with the significant legal fees involved to clarify who gets what.

At least in the Franklin case, she used the usual size paper and a pen — not the case with Tony Hsieh. Hsieh, the late Zappos CEO, left thousands of sticky notes on the walls of his home regarding his finances and business deals, but no formal estate planning documents. Now, some four years after his death, his estate, reportedly worth over $840 million, is still in court.

Update: Aretha Franklin died in 2018 at the age of 76 leaving an estate now worth some $6 million dollars. Two different handwritten wills were found at her home, one dated 2010 and one dated 2014. The wills contained conflicting instructions regarding how to distribute the estate.

Franklin left four sons, one of whom has special needs — in other words, he receives government benefits because he is disabled. Receiving distributions outright from an estate could cause her son to be disqualified from receiving benefits. Franklin’s 2014 will instructed the executor to only distribute to two of Franklin’s sons, Kecalf and Edward, only after they completed business classes and obtained a certificate or degree in finances. We are seeing provisions like this more and more in wills and trusts — not a bad idea if you have children who lack financial experience.Franklin, like many of us, was an immensely private person which is purportedly why she did not want to work with an attorney. She feared details of her estate would become known. Unfortunately, this very fear forced the intimate details of her estate and family into the public eye. Five years after her death, in November, 2023, a jury of the Oakland County Probate Court in Michigan determined that her estate would be distributed pursuant to the 2014 will — leaving everything to her sons.

Putting together an estate plan is delayed by many and for various reasons. It could be the fear of disclosing personal information, like Franklin, or it can be because we are unsure how to leave assets and who should act as executor or trustee. The beauty of a revocable living trust is that it is completely amendable and revocable. Write it today and next year, if your situation changes, amend your trust. We have administered trusts which have been amended as many as 19 times. Also, creating a trust is the best way to keep your estate matters confidential.

Enjoy the holidays with family and loved ones and then set your New Year’s resolutions to include finalizing your estate planning.

Liza Horvath has over 30 years of experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is a licensed professional fiduciary. Liza currently serves as president of Monterey Trust Management. This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. If you have a question, call (831) 646-5262 or email liza@montereytrust.com