Estate planning lawyers are always going to remind their clients about the need to make the appropriate estate plan revisions. There are certain life changes that make updates necessary, and one of them is a change in marital status.
We can often gain insight into the pitfalls that go along with a lack of proper planning when we hear about celebrity cases. With this in mind let’s take a brief look at the estate of the deceased artist Thomas Kinkade.
Kinkade, the so-called “Painter of Light,” died suddenly at the age of 54 due to acute intoxication. He was living with his girlfriend Amy Pinto-Walsh at the time and had been doing so for 18 months.
She produced two different handwritten or holographic wills drawn up by Kinkade that left her millions of dollars and some real property including Kinkade’s home.
However, Kinkade was legally married but separated at the time of his death, and his wife Nanette is in possession of a professionally executed estate plan that did not include Pinto-Walsh.
The two individuals are not in agreement about the validity of the either set of documents so it would appear as though the matter is going to be playing itself out in court.
The takeaway here is to recognize the importance of executing truly ironclad estate planning documents with the benefit of professional guidance when life changes take place.
Should you be interested in discussing your own intentions with an expert, take action right now to arrange for a consultation with a licensed, experienced Indianapolis estate planning lawyer.
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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