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10 Famous People Who Died Without a Will
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Mar 2011
What do Picasso, Jimi Hendrix, Abraham Lincoln, and “Sonny” Bono all have in common? You’re probably thinking, not much. But they do, in fact, have one big thing in common. They all died intestate—which means, they died without having a will. Surprising as that might sound, even the rich and famous can fail to plan ahead when it comes to their estate. Here’s a snippet of 10 famous people who died without wills and what happened to their estates.
1. Jimi Hendrix
Although Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, the battle over his estate raged on for more than 30 years for one simple reason: Hendrix left no will regarding distribution of his estate. To complicate matters, the estates of musicians and other artists often continue to generate money long after their deaths.
2. Bob Marley
Like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley’s estate continues to generate significant revenue despite the fact that Marley died in 1981. Also like Hendrix, Bob Marley died intestate even though he knew he had cancer and lingered for nearly 8 months. His estate, worth a reported $30 million, had dozens of claimants.
3. Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono
Granted, Sonny Bono “the politician” died an untimely death in a skiing accident in 1998, but why he died without a will is something we’ll never know. Instead of staying at home to grieve, his widow Mary Bono headed to the courthouse to be appointed the estate's administrator. Ex-wife Cher showed up on the scene as a claimant in Bono’s estate and a “love child” surfaced soon thereafter making the situation even more difficult.
4. Stieg Larsson
Swedish author Stieg Larsson who wrote The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo among others, died in 2004. Like many others, Larsson died without a will and Swedish law dictated that Larsson’s estate was to be divided up between his father and his brother. His lifelong partner of 32 years, Eva Gabrielsson, received nothing, although the family did grant her ownership of the couple’s apartment.
5. Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso died in 1973 at the age of 91, leaving behind a fortune in assets that included artwork, five homes, cash, gold and bonds. Because Picasso died intestate and left no will, it took 6 years to settle his estate at a cost of $30 million. His assets were eventually divided up among six heirs.
6. DJ AM
DJ AM, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, died from a drug overdose in 2009. While his name might only be familiar to those of a certain age, he too made the mistake of not having a will. In Goldstein’s case however, since he had no heirs and was not married, disposition of his estate was fairly straightforward with his mother as the sole beneficiary.
7. Michael Jackson
Although a will was later discovered, immediately following Michael Jackson’s death in July 2009, his mother filed court papers claiming that Jackson died intestate. Like Hendrix and Marley, Jackson’s estate continues to generate money. In the year since his death, his estate generated over $242 million.
8. Steve McNair
NFL player Steve McNair had it all—fame, fortune, and a beautiful family. But when 36-year-old McNair was shot and killed by an alleged girlfriend, who is believed to have committed suicide after killing McNair, the truth came out—that he had, in fact, had a girlfriend and he never bothered to create a will.
9. Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes was an eccentric billionaire who died in 1976 at the age of 70. When he died, his will was discovered at the headquarters of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. The will, however, was proved to be a forgery in a Nevada court and his estate was divided among his 22 cousins.
10. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president, has the distinction of being the first president to be assassinated (1865) as well as the first president to die intestate—despite being a lawyer himself.
Famous or not, everyone should have a will. It's simple to do and it saves your family a lot of money and headaches. And, as illustrated by the stories above, you’re never too young—or too smart or too powerful—to have a will.
Resources:
http://alexbajwa.com/the-jimi-hendrix-estate
http://www.insnewsnet.com/epf/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/21/stieg-larsson-eva-gabrielsson
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article6850817.ece
http://www.grossmanlaw.net/blog/dj-am-dies-without-a-will.cfm
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090629/court-paper-says-jackson-died-intestate.htm
http://www.probatelawyerblog.com/2009/07/steve-mcnair-died-without-a-will.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/5/newsid_4739000/4739940.stm
http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln92.html
http://www.fa-mag.com/component/content/article/38-features/5034.html?Itemid=180
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Comments
Submitted by on Mar 1, 2011 - 5:31PM
my aunt is 89 and dont ahve awill she has over 145000. in the bank just earning cd interest and a house paid off woth 1 million, how can i help her have a will or living trust so that the government does keepn all this stuff and goes to her grandkids
Submitted by on Mar 4, 2011 - 5:10PM
Great question! LegalZoom can certainly help you get started on her Will and Living Trust! Give us a call (1-800-773-0888, 6am-7pm PST, M-F) or send us an email (psinfo@legalzoom.com) if you have questions. Or get started right away at: http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-wills/wills-overview.html
Submitted by on Feb 5, 2012 - 6:55AM
Somehow, someone, will bury you. You can't take it with you! What a sad statement on our society that everyone comes out of the woodwork to gain some part of the "money". It's a statement on our society. Yes! Create and estate so that the good work of your life goes to causes and projects that better the world you lived in and help the people who need it the most. If you can, give it all away to people and causes that you feel deserve it. Die penniless if you can. No offense the the good lawyers that are trying to help here, but better the money buys food for some starving child than ends up paying legal bills.
Submitted by on Mar 1, 2011 - 7:23PM
Howard Hughes died in 1976 at age 70, not in 1970 at age 76.
Submitted by on Mar 1, 2011 - 8:09PM
You might want to proofread that artictle before blowing your whole argument on a grammatical error. "It simple to do..."
Submitted by on Mar 2, 2011 - 1:49PM
9th word should be it's not it.
Famous or not, everyone should have a will. It simple to do and it saves your family a lot of money and headaches. And, as illustrated by the stories above, you’re never too young—or too smart or too powerful—to have a will.
Submitted by on Mar 2, 2011 - 3:54PM
This article is high insensitive. You can tell this was not professionally prepared.
When you talk about a deceased person you talk about their accomplishments not their story of how they died.
Come on, Man!!!
Submitted by on Mar 2, 2011 - 4:36PM
Challenging a will does not equate "not having a will". If Michael Jackson was deemed to have died "intestate" (not having a will), then an Administrator would oversee his estate, not an Executor, as is currently the case. You need to print a retraction. Addtionally, Heleigh Bostwick as the author, and LegalZoom as the company that signs her paycheck, should get the facts straight. The article's authorship sounds ignorant in terms of businss, and LegalZoom aas a website, and by extension, the publisher of the piece, appear sloppy and untrained in legal analysis. If this is how you prepare wills, Heaven help the clients that buy this service, and rely on you to do accurate work.
Submitted by on Mar 4, 2011 - 12:24PM
We appreciate your comment. The author mentioning Michael Jackson here was simply to point out that initially, his mother claimed that he died intestate. As has been reported in the press, he did, in fact, have a will.
Thank you for pointing out our inadvertent mistake: the reference to Sonny Bono’s estate “executor.” When a person dies without a will, the court will appoint someone to handle the estate, often termed the “administrator” or “personal representative,” depending upon the state. We have corrected the mistake.
Submitted by on Dec 30, 2011 - 11:09AM
This response is a cop-out. The terms executor, administrator, and personal representative aren't simply based on local preference.
A "personal representative" is the person in charge of the estate, regardless of how he or she got the job. An "executor" is a person who is nominated by a will and appointed as the personal representative after the will is admitted to probate. An "administrator" is a person, over than an executor, who is appointed as the personal representative.
In California, at least, there is another category - "administrator with will annexed." That term applies to a person appointed to administer a will when they were not the executor named in the will, or when the original will cannot be found and the court is probating a copy.
Submitted by on Mar 3, 2011 - 9:59AM
Normally I don't comment on people's comments, but you need to realize that this is not an article about famous people, its an article about the importance of having a will. They just used some recognizable names to drive home a point in people's minds. Focus!
Submitted by on Mar 3, 2011 - 9:25PM
Thank you. I found this article to be quite enlightening. As an "everyday" person, I think that it's important to have our "papers" in order: even if we choose to review and revise them, every several years. We cannot predict what will happen but, we can make an effort to not be caught with our pants down and our cherished ones not taken care of. It's a simple process and yes, I've had to update mine several times, within the last few years but, at least I'm putting forth an effort to have a say so in how my "hard earned" funds will be utilized after my departure.
Submitted by on Mar 4, 2011 - 10:50AM
This is a very well written article and "how very true", that is the importance of a Will. As a Florida Notary Public I see many Will documents that are presented to me for notarization.
I also see a lot of people that come to me to notarize medical POAs, Health Care Surrogate docs and even FL Living Wills. Unfortunately many of these folks don't have Wills, so their estates will probably go into Probate Court. This will end up causing their heirs and the estate greater expenses. I always advise my clients to get advise from a lawyer or buy a Will kit from LegalZoom as I have notarized these and believe them to be a great value.
So don't delat it, "Get a Will", says Waterford Notary Charles Figueroa, Orlando, FL
Submitted by on Mar 5, 2011 - 6:21AM
We needed to change a few names in our living trust. We went to an attorney with everything noted to be changed. It ended up costing us over a thousand.
Do you have to have an attorney make those changes or can you cross out and change and take to a notary public to verify?
Submitted by on Apr 7, 2011 - 9:37AM
Hi thanks so much for contacting LegalZoom. This is a really great question! However, because we are not a law firm we cannot give legal advice nor can we guide you to edit a document not created through us. If you are interested in finding an attorney to help you answer this question, please refer to our Attorney Services Division: http://attorneyconnect.legalzoom.com
Submitted by on Mar 12, 2011 - 9:29PM
When submitting emails criticizing authors and articles, please check the spelling and grammar of your own transmission! And, as for this article representing the importance of executing a legal will, of course the names of those internationally known are used as examples. Duhhh!
Submitted by on Dec 30, 2011 - 9:09AM
To all those who choose to criticize the grammar as opposed to appreciate the message. Rome is burning to the ground ... and you focus on Nero's fiddle being out of tune!?
Submitted by on Dec 30, 2011 - 9:29AM
Michael Jackson didn't die without a Will. He prepared a highly effective pour over Will and The Michael Jackson Family Trust. His name shouldn't even be on this list.
Submitted by on Jan 1, 2012 - 3:07AM
Can I finalize my will and not worry about his lack of preparation? Wouldn't my wishes trump his non- listed concerns for children's future? He has never wanted to face his own mortality, and I want to make sure our children are taken care of, in the way we would want to see it happen .
Submitted by on Feb 23, 2012 - 8:13AM
Hi Angela, thanks for contacting LegalZoom. LegalZoom makes creating legal documents easy and affordable, but since we're not a law firm, we can't give specific legal advice about your situation. However, you can get free legal advice on the LegalZoom Facebook page every Friday and Tuesday. Check out Free Joe: http://zoo.mn/FreeJoe.
Submitted by on Jan 1, 2012 - 8:06AM
Didn't William Rehnquist died without a will? At the time he was Chief Justice of the US Supreme court, or recently retired.
Submitted by on Jan 21, 2012 - 1:08AM
if your a creative person like musician , poet, painter,artistic visual artist,actor, entertainer, or designer it's important to have some form of document with a trust worthy party to that your fortune is in place when you exspire. Intestate will leave you and your love ones without.
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