Estate planning

Making estate planning decisions can sometimes bring up uncomfortable topics for clients, but Holly Thomas, the founder of Holly P. Thomas, LLC, in Tampa, Fla., said it's a vital part of any financial plan.

It’s shocking how many rich and famous people make mistake and after mistake, which often leads to heirs fighting over inheritances. But, it’s not only the rich. Everyday across the country, people from all walks of life make the exact same mistakes time and time again. The only difference is the dollar amounts that they’re fighting over.

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks passed away in Detroit at the age of 92 back in 2005. Almost six years later, her legacy is still tied up in a lengthy court battle. The case features allegations of abuse, cronyism and corruption by the probate judge as well as the two lawyers he appointed to oversee the estate and trust.

Ryan O'Neal is at it again. He and Craig Nevius, a Hollywood producer who used to work closely with Farrah Fawcett, are in the midst of more legal fighting against one another.

Celebrity heirs fighting over the estate is far from uncommon but it is unusual when an ugly court battle starts before the celebrity even dies. That certainly has been the case with the Dennis Hopper estate.

A new study to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, has found that when people are reminded of money, they respond differently and mimicking can backfire and make establishing a relationship and a sense of trust even more difficult for financial advisors.

What do you tell the 55-year-old who's burned out but looking at another 15 to 20 years of work?

If your clients have money in retirement accounts they won’t need to live on, they can put that money into a Roth IRA and avoid paying taxes on any gains. Now, grandkids can inherit up to $5 million tax free.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, who appeared in dozens of movies and television shows throughout a career that spanned five decades, is approaching the end. Sadly, her final days are surrounding by fighting between her husband of 25 years and her only daughter.

I guess if you wait long enough, everything that once was will come back to us again. Even the bad stuff.

Legal controversy has surrounded the Estate of Michael Jackson ever since he died almost two years ago. Trial & Heirs did a year in review article last year; it’s almost time for year two. You can now add a new lawsuit — over $17.5 million worth of insurance — to the list.

Farrah Fawcett, dying from cancer, floated in and out of consciousness and needed a full-time nurse when Ryan O’Neal interceded to appease NBC and make sure a documentary about Fawcett’s struggle with cancer aired in time for the May sweeps period. At least, that’s the picture painted in a recent New York Times article.

Divorce can have devastating financial consequences if you're not prepared.

Leona Helmsley, widely regarded as the “Queen of Mean” before she died at age 87 in 2007, left behind a fortune valued by some to be worth $40 to $80 billion. She earmarked twelve million dollars to take care of her dog, Trouble, until the Judge reduced it to a paltry $2 million.

While Whitney Houston was recently admitted to rehab, she has one other big concern that she still has to face - her no-holds-barred court fight with her late father’s widow.

Irvin Feld was a rock-and-roll promoter who purchased “The Greatest Show on Earth” in 1967. He created a promotion company to manage the Ringling Bros. Circus, along with Disney on Ice and monster truck shows, but none of his shows have been as eventful as what’s happened between his two children the last few years.

Estate plans work great when someone dies—but it's when clients live into old age that planning gets hard.

A defined benefit cash balance plan is ideal for high income business owners.

SEI finds that talking about money may still be taboo.

The Michael Jackson Estate has featured fireworks since very shortly after Michael died on June 25, 2009. His mother, Katherine Jackson, was not happy about non-family members, including attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, being named as executors of his estate. So she hired lawyers and challenged the executors in probate court. They fought … and fought … and fought.