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Gary Coleman died just over a week ago, on May 28, 2010. And in that week, there have already been enough surprises to spark a whole series of “Whatcha talkin ’bout Willis!”’s. First came the question of how Gary Coleman died at the age of 42. According to the 911 tapes, Shannon Price (who called herself his wife) summoned emergency personnel when he fell and hit his head. She was frantic over what to do with her “husband”. Sadly, he didn’t recover from the accident, despite being “conscious and lucid” the next morning, according to a Provo, Utah hospital spokesman. He took a turn for the worse and was put on life support until Price decided to pull the plug, only two days after he hit his head. Coleman’s parents were bothered after they learned of his death from the media. Of course, these parents weren’t exactly close with their son. He had successfully sued them in 1989, claiming they had stolen much of his earnings as a childhood star of Diff’rent Strokes (among other shows), which had been held in trust for him. Despite their estrangement, Coleman’s parents wanted answers as to how he died. They questioned how Price could have decided to pull the plug and terminate his life support. They were concerned when it was revealed that Price wasn’t actually Coleman’s wife. They were married in 2007, after dating for five months. But Coleman and the 22-year-old Price divorced in August, 2008. In fact, they even appeared on an episode of Divorce Court together. You can watch it on youtube — here are the highlights: Divorce Court video . So how was Price legally able to end Coleman’s life if they were no longer married? Coleman had signed an important estate document that every adult needs — an advanced health care directive. States use different names for legal documents like this, which record end-of-life wishes and appoint a decision-maker when the signer is no longer able to make his or her own decisions. That document, according to the Utah hospital where Coleman died, gave Price the legal authority to end life support. Price says she didn’t want Coleman to end up in a “Terri Schiavo” situation. In fact, even if they had been married, Price still would not have been able to legally terminate life support without a legal document like the advanced health care directive (unless she first obtained a court order). Price also made funeral arrangements for Coleman, to be held in Salt Lake City this weekend. Those plans had to be put on hold though. Why? Because Coleman’s parents went to court to stop the funeral because Price was no longer his wife. While she had the power to end his life, her legal authority ended once he died, so she didn’t have the legal authority to plan his funeral. Instead, Coleman’s parents filed to open their son’s estate in probate court, saying he had no will. Under intestate law (which applies when there is no will), they would stand to inherit his estate and to control it as executors — including the decision of when and how to bury his body. They wanted to fly Coleman’s remains back to his boyhood home of Zion, Illinois for a funeral there. Coleman’s Utah-based attorney said Coleman had no will. In fact, he had been trying to convince Coleman to sit down and sign a will for a long time. Apparently, Coleman was planning to see the lawyer to create a will in a few weeks. So there is no will, right? Not so fast. Apparently, Coleman did have a will. He had an older one, from 1999 (before he moved to Utah where he later met Price). Despite his failure to update the will after either his marriage or his divorce, the will would still be valid. At least, that’s assuming there are no other wills that surface later. And what does it say? Because it hasn’t been filed with the probate court yet, we don’t know (but it will be revealed soon because wills are public documents one they’re filed in probate court). So far, it’s only been reported that the estate executor is named Don Mial, a friend and former manager that Coleman reportedly trusted to handle his final wishes. Because of this, his parents withdrew their filing, and the funeral plans are now up in the air. Whew! It’s only been eight days. What kind of dramatics will there be once the rest of the will — including who gets to inherit what — is revealed? And, what type of joint assets remain between Coleman and Price? If he never updated his will after the divorce, maybe Price is still a joint owner of his bank accounts, home, or investments (which is common between many married people). In fact, reportedly, Coleman and Price were still living together and even planned to remarry, once Coleman’s earlier health problems improved. So Coleman still could have provided for her, even without updating his will since 1999. But, whatever plans he made or didn’t make could very likely lead to fighting in probate court, because his legal documents weren’t updated. The terms of the divorce judgment may also come into play. Judging from the drama of the first week, this estate could turn out to be a wild one. And let this case be a good lesson for you and your loved ones. No one is promised tomorrow. Update your wills, trusts and other legal documents. It’s especially important after life events like marriages and divorces. And if you don’t have an advanced health care directive, medical power of attorney, living will, or similar document, take care of it soon. If Coleman hadn’t signed a document like that, then Price would have needed to go to court to terminate his life support. His estranged parents would have received notice of the court hearing and had the right to fight the decision. That could have been a very ugly fight, indeed. Every adult in this country who doesn’t have a valid document allowing someone to make medical, financial and end-of-life decisions in case of disability should see a good estate planning lawyer and protect themselves and their families. Posted by: Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of Trial and Heirs : Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founders of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law. Andrew and Danielle are husband and wife attorneys, professional speakers and consultants across the country.

Everyone was shocked when actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly at age 32 on December 20th, 2009. She left behind a husband, Simon Monjack, of two and a half years and a mother with whom she was very close. Reportedly, her mother lived with Murphy and her husband the last few years. Only one day after her tragic passing, celebrity gossip website TMZ posted an article saying that Murphy had a will, but one that was created before her marriage. The report stated the will left everything to her mother and nothing to her husband. It also stated Brittany’s house was held in a trust which also left it to her mother, not her husband. Another website said the house — which Murphy had purchased from Britney Spears in 2003 for almost four million dollars — was held in a trust called the “Nina Bow Trust”. At this point, it’s too early to tell if the reports are accurate. Wills are public records and are available to the media and websites alike, but only once they are filed. That doesn’t happen one day after someone passes away. Also, when people do the proper estate planning, and hold their assets in trusts, there is no need for a will to be filed. Rather, the trust controls what happens with the person’s property, privately and out of court. But, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if the TMZ report is accurate. Many young people with money — including celebrities like Heath Ledger — fail to update their will, trust and other estate planning documents after important life events. As discussed in the book, Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights! , Ledger failed to revise his will after his daughter was born, for example. So Murphy’s reported failure to update her will and trust would not be unusual. Of course, maybe there was no failure at all — maybe she didn’t want to update them and include her husband. Either way, Murphy’s true wishes might not be followed. Most states have “pretermitted heir” laws that allow spouses and children who come along after a will was created to still share in the estate. But, the amount varies from state to state, and the conditions vary as well. For example, in some states the law applies both to wills and trusts, but in others the law applies only to wills. In Murphy’s home state of California, which is a “community property” state, the law allows spouses such as Monjack to share in about one-half of the estate, when they became married after the will or trust was created. But, the law has exceptions when there is an agreement to the contrary (such as a prenuptial agreement), or if will or trust has language saying that the creator intentionally didn’t include a spouse, along with other exceptions. So, we’ll have to wait and see if Monjack will share in any of Brittany Murphy’s assets despite these reports that her will and trust don’t include him. And, of course, this uncertainly may very well lead to probate proceedings that cost lots of money. Which is why this story should serve as a lesson for everyone. Don’t wait to take care of your estate planning until you’re retired! If you have assets or children, you need to have at least a will, and probably a trust as well. Yes, even if you’re only 32 years old! And always be sure to update your documents after major life events such as a marriage, divorce, or birth of a child. You certainly don’t want to leave your legacy up to the laws of your state. You owe it to your family to do the proper planning and make sure your wishes are followed. Posted by: Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs : Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law. You can email him at blog @ trialandheirs.com.

Read more here at Original Post:
Did Brittany Murphy forget to update her will?

Will there be a fight over Gary Coleman’s estate?

Did Brittany Murphy forget to update her will?

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