When financial resources will continue to come in after you pass away you have some decisions to make. Some people who are in this situation have the desire to give something back to worthy causes, and creating a charitable foundation is an option.
This is what the legendary singer and composer Ray Charles did with his legacy. The Ray Charles Foundation is devoted to assisting youth programs and contributing to efforts to educate those with hearing impairments. One of the assets that the foundation has drawn from has been the copyrights to songs written by Charles.
According to a story that is appearing on the CNN website the foundation is involved in a legal struggle with seven of Charles’ 12 children. They reportedly made an agreement with their father before he passed away, accepting trust funds valued at $500,000 each, while promising not to try to get anything more from the estate in the future.
Apparently the seven children attempted to renegotiate the copyrights to 51 of Charles’ compositions and obtain ownership of them. The foundation claims that this action is not only legally unsupportable, but damaging to the value of the songs. So the foundation is suing the children for $500,000 each.
It is somewhat troubling to see matters such as these arise after the death of a celebrity. Because of the potential for ongoing claims, if you are in possession of significant resources it is extraordinarily important to develop an ironclad legacy plan with the assistance of a licensed, experienced, and savvy Indianapolis estate planning lawyer.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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