Michael Jackson’s will probably wasn’t drafted well. Look, the attorneys are charging big bucks, and the family is already in court even though a family trust was in place. All we know at this point is that his mother is named by the will as primary guardian and Diana Ross as secondary guardian. In 2002, Jackson made a will that named his attorney John Branca, whom he fired in 2006, and John McClain, an old friend, as his executors. Rumor has it that the will gives pieces of his estate to his mother, his children, and charities, but he also has a family trust, and that may take priority. It is also rumored that the will dumps everything into his family trust. There are some obvious problems with the will and the way his estate was planned.

Although you are not in the financial position Jackson was, you don’t need to make the same mistakes he has apparently made. First, avoid the mistake of letting your attorney be executor of your estate. Although your lawyer may be your trusted consultant, do not appoint him as your executor. The attorney who drafts the will should not appoint himself as executor? It’s nearly malpractice. Funny things start to happen with no contest. Why did it take so long for the attorney to come forth with Jackson’s will? Jackson’s mother’s lawyer, Burt Levitch is noticeably aggravated that he started a proceeding for custody of the children on behalf of Katherine Jackson, and then a will appeared. Of course Mr. Branca knew he possessed the will. A lawyer doesn’t draw up a will for the likes of Michael Jackson and put it in the files and forget about it.

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American’s like to guard their children. I like to guard my children. It is really true that there is no scorn like a woman’s scorn. You can insult me, and I will quite easily forgive and forget, but don’t take on my children, you will have an enemy for life. Just ask David Letterman about a woman’s scorn. I’m sure he has told any number of Sarah Palin jokes, but once he started in on her daughter, things became really ugly, and I think most American’s were disgusted with Letterman’s joke no matter which daughter it involved. With Letterman’s apology the whole incident may be ended, but I’ll bet Sarah Palin won’t easily forget, after all it was her daughter that was insulted.

It is interesting to me that with all the time and effort we give to our children, many of us neglect our final responsibility to our children. As an estate planning attorney, I often see real family tragedies involving children whose parents have not taken the time to protect them before they were orphaned. (more…)