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Richest of the Rich: Ten Celebrity Estate Planning MistakesRichest of the Rich: Ten Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes

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Just because you can't take it with you doesn't mean you should let the government have it! 

Celebrities often live firmly in the moment, maintaining lavish lifestyles and basking in the adulation of legions of fans. In fact, it's likely this very focus and dedication to the now that allows them to ascend to the tops of their respective fields in the first place.  Unfortunately, this gift becomes a curse when it comes time to perform estate planning.  Too often, celebrities fail to establish even the most rudimentary estate plans, and those that do have a plan in place commonly leave gaping holes, despite their financial might giving them access to the finest attorneys. These easily avoidable oversights can cause enormous family strife and cost tens of millions of dollars.

Here are ten celebrities who did a great job accumulating wealth during their lives but failed to properly plan for their eventual deaths.

 

Estimated net worth of these estates is calculated using CelebrityNetWorth.com.

About the Authors

Megan Leonhardt

Megan Leonhardt is senior editor for WealthManagement.com and REP. magazine, reporting on national brokerage firms and the independent advisor landscape, as well as regulatory updates, legal cases and compliance issues. Prior to covering the financial services industry, Megan worked as a legal reporter breaking stories on major law firms and writing on significant court cases all over the country.
 

David H. Lenok

Senior Editor

David Lenok is a senior editor for Wealthmanagement.com and Trusts & Estates. He's an attorney admitted to practice in New York and writes about general wealth planning issues.