Like many ordinary individuals, celebrities often fail to update outdated estate plans or ignore estate planning altogether. Even when a celebrity has done careful estate planning and has well-drafted documents, changes in family circumstances or in the tax laws can create unexpected results. When estate planning misfires occur, grieving family members can end up fighting with each other and with taxing authorities. The estate plans discussed in this article offer useful lessons to estate planners and laypersons alike. This article highlight numerous celebrities estate mishaps like Anne Heche, Lisa Marie Presley, Tupac Shakur, and Ivana Trump.
Complications arose following Anne Heche’s death caused by the absence of a will or other estate planning documents. She did not have an estate plan in place specify-ing a fiduciary of her estate or how her assets were to be distributed.
When Lisa Marie Presley died, her daughter Riley was the sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s revocable trust, wielding full control over Elvis’s home, Graceland, including its 13-acre original grounds, Elvis’s personal effects, and Elvis’s legacy. At the time of Lisa Marie’s death, the Elvis brand brought in more than $100 million per year.
Tupac Shakur was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996, spurring more than two decades of legal battles over his estate.
Ivana Trump’s estate, worth tens of millions of dollars, was distributed through her will, but relying solely on a will to pass an estate as large and well-known as Ivana’s could re-sult in significant publicity for the decedent and beneficiaries. This risk could be mitigated through the use of more advanced estate planning techniques, including revocable trusts
For more information see Kristen A. Curatolo, Jay J. Scharf, Shifra Herzberg, Shaina S. Kamen, Erica Howard-Potter, and Mikhail E. Lezhnev “Celebrity Estate Planning: Misfires of the Rich and Famous VII,” ABA Probate and Property Journal, July 1, 2025.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2025/07/celebrity-estate-planning-misfires-of-the-rich-and-famous-vii.html