Jerry Eckwood was a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979 through 1981. His football career ended earlier than it should have and some attribute the early end of his career at least partially to mental issues.

Today he is a man in his mid 50s who is the subject of a conservatorship proceeding in Davidson County, Tennessee. Mr. Eckwood is resisting having a conservator being appointed for him despite being diagnosed with dementia, suffering from a mental illness and living in an assisted-living facility. He acknowledges that he needs help with his finances, but in a hearing a couple of weeks ago said he did not need a conservator.

It is common for individuals to want to be in control of their life and deny the need for a conservator. The courts are very deferential to individuals and ultimately appoint conservators the vast majority of the time that they receive a petition for conservatorship. In this case a temporary conservator has been appointed until the judge makes a determination as to whether Mr. Eckwood requires a conservator. I predict the judge will so find.

The Los Angeles Times this week contains an article on a record gift made to USC by alumnus David Dornsifes and his wife Dana in the amount of $200 million. That is the largest single donation in the school’s history eclipsing George Lucas’ donation of $175 million in 2006.

The Times article points out that the single largest gift to a college or university, was a $600 million package to Caltech in 2001 from Gordon and Betty Moore and their foundation. Mr. Moore co-founded Intel. At least twenty colleges or universities have received individual gifts of at least $200 million.

Frequently in trusts and wills, individuals provide for different charities and religious organizations that are important in their lives. Today, charitable giving in California is done more through trusts than it is through wills because most people want their estate to avoid probate.

Obviously our institutions are benefited by these gifts. Let’s hope that they utilize the money in a way that makes or would have made the giver(s) of the gift proud.

When clients decide to do a living trust or a will, one of the questions they have to answer is who will be the executor or successor trustee?

For some, the answer is obvious. It might be a son or daughter. However, for many the question requires serious thought. One needs to consider not just who would be the best person (or bank or trust company) at the current time, but who will be the best when the trustee actually has to function. That may or may not be the same person or institution.

The point of this blog post is to encourage people to think to the future as well as the present. It is relatively easy to provide in the will and/or trust for a specific trustee to serve based upon the timing of the necessity of service. For example if the trustee or executor is required to serve within the next 5 years it shall be my friend Bob; however, if it is more than 5 years, it shall be my daughter Jill.

Experienced wills and trusts attorneys are helpful in assisting with the selection of the backup trustee and executor.

Mark Hughes is a name that relatively few people know, but 15 years ago he was one of the wealthiest men in the country as a result of having founded Herbalife out of the trunk of his car in 1980. In 2000, he died because of an accidental overdose of alcohol and antidepressants.

At that time he left an 8 year old son, Alex. Alex’s mother, Suzan, was divorced from Mark Hughes in 1998. Since 2000, she has been waging battles in one form or another against the trustees of the trusts created on Alex’ behalf. The large trust, with a value of approximately $400 million, is to be distributed to Alex when he attains the age of 35. At age 25 he is to begin receiving one-third of its annual income. The smaller trust, which is worth between 40 and 70 million dollars, is to be distributed to Alex at age 25. The trustees were hopeful that when Alex turned 18, the litigation would end. However, that is not the case. They are now hopeful that the litigation will end when he turns 25 and gets the smaller trust.

Obviously, the winners in continuing litigation are the litigators themselves. While Alex is going to receive more than enough money to live incredibly comfortably for the rest of his life, his “inheritance” will be less as a result of all of this litigation in the probate courts of Los Angeles County!

What is the moral of the story? I am not sure that there is one other than to insert provisions in trusts that decrease the likelihood of litigation. Nevertheless, there are always going to be heirs that are unhappy with the actions of trustees or that want their money more quickly.

When I meet with clients planning the distribution of their estate through their will or living trust (family trust), one of the most important areas we discuss is the identity of the executor or successor trustee.

Recently there have been articles in the press about management of trusts set up by Walt Disney’s youngest daughter. She died in 1993 and left her 3 children a lot of money in trust. The trusts were to be managed by their father, Bill Lund and 3 others. (Bill Lund was the man who scouted the land for Disney World in Orlando)

The trust provided that the children were to receive yearly payments and that at ages 35, 40 and 45 they were to receive payments approximating $20 million.

On Labor Day 2009 one of the children, Michelle, had an aneurysm and was hospitalized. That hospitalization set off a chain of events that led to Mr. Lund being removed as a co-trustee of his children’s trust. That played itself out in California courts.

In Arizona courts, an action has been filed on behalf of Michelle’s twin brother, Brad, by family members seeking an independent guardian for Brad in place of his father, Bill Lund. Brad did not receive either of the $20 million disbursements at age 35 or age 40 as the trustees voted against doing so.

Brad is siding with his father and stepmother against his other family members. He has indicated that he has asked his stepmother to adopt him. It will be interesting to watch this drama to continue to unfold.

As a teaching tool, the lesson to take away is to really think about the future. How will your plan actually be implemented? Is your trustee completely (100%) trustworthy? Can you foresee any event where you would not want him/her/it acting?

Many times clients come to me and have not thought this issue through. This is where an experienced estate planning attorney can be of great assistance and create a plan that minimizes the chance for litigation years later.

As a probate attorney, I am always looking for interesting stories to blog about that relate what we do in an interesting manner. Obviously, stories involving celebrities are great teaching tools because most people are curious about famous people.

In the December 12 edition of the Los Angeles Times there is an article in the Arts & Books section on Michael Jackson’s estate that informed me of a battle that I did not know was occurring.

Michael Jackson’s trust and will named John McClain and John Branca as the trustees and executors of his estate. They, by all accounts, have performed in a very professional manner. While the estate remains in the red, its debt is nowhere near what it was at Jackson’s death which was purported to be nearly half a billion dollars.

The Times article points out that in 2001 Michael Jackson’s parents were forced to sell an enormous memorabilia collection. In 2004 Michael Jackson sued the owner of the collection, Vintage Pop (a corporation), alleging a variety of things including copyright infringement, violation of privacy, and cyber-squatting. Ultimately he moved to Bahrain and refused to submit to a deposition. In 2006, the case was dismissed “with prejudice” – Jackson was therefore barred from refiling the case.

Vintage Pop was then sold and the new owner, while interested in the memorabilia, was more interested in the fact that the case was dismissed with prejudice. He believes that the corporation is immune from suits by Jackson or his heirs for intellectual property violations and therefore can make money off of Jackson’s name.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out over time. In the short run, the owner of the company has the blessing of Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother. Ultimately, a deal may be entered into between the estate and Vintage Pop.

Stay tuned!

The Vision of Doug McMasters

Here is another entry that does not deal with estate planning, estate administration, or probate. Rather it deals with the coach of the Arcadia Astros, a summer baseball team of 15 to 19 year olds. On Halloween day this year, the Los Angeles Times published a piece by Rebecca Trounson that deals with Mr. McMasters.

The 46 year old McMasters is the assistant superintendent of business services for the Los Nietos School District which is Whittier based. Since 1990 he has been associated with the Astros and since 1994 he has been their head coach. The team dominates the San Gabriel Valley year in and year out with several of its alumni having made the major leagues and many having played college ball.

McMasters spends upwards of 30 hours per week during the summer on behalf of the team and underwrites most of the $10,000 annual budget himself. Unfortunately the summer of 2011 may be his last as the head coach because he extremely early macular degeneration in both of his eyes. He is now nearly blind in his right eye. His left eye is somewhat better and the Times article indicates that he recently tried a new binocular –style device for his left eye.

Here is hoping that there will be developments that allow Doug McMasters to see for many more years. Many young men will be blessed in the future just as many have already been blessed.

Anna Nicole Smith is no longer alive having died in the Bahamas in 2007 at the age of 39 years old. The high school drop-out married a very wealthy man when she was age 26 and he was age 89. He died fourteen months later in 1995 and his estate has been at issue since that time. For the last three plus years it has been her estate against her husband’s estate.

Smith’s will provided that everything was to go to her son. The will also provided that in the event that she had another child, that child was not to receive anything. Her son predeceased her and she did have another child after the execution of the will.

The United States Supreme Court rarely gets involved in probate disputes and is involved in this probate case not because of the facts of the case, but rather to decide whether Smith’s estate was the recipient of a proper hearing in the federal courts, and to determine whether state probate courts are the proper venue for hearing such cases.

Anna Nicole Smith certainly was colorful in life. She did have the courage of her convictions to pursue what she believed was rightfully her as the surviving spouse of J. Howard Marshall.

Now her estate, through her attorney Howard Stern continues the fight. This probate lawyer awaits the Supreme Court’s decision.

Timing is everything. John Kluge died on September 7 just two weeks shy of his 96th birthday. He is at least the 5th American billionaire to die this year. In the mid 1980s for a period he was either the richest or second richest man in America.

He was an American success story of German origin. He came to the United States in 1922 and graduated from Columbia University in 1937. During the six year period between 1987 and 1993 he gave over $110 million to the University and in 2007 it was announced that upon his death the school would receive $400 million.

He made a good deal of his money in the media and specifically with the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation which he acquired in the late 1950s for six million dollars and sold in 1986 for approximately four billion dollars.

As anyone reading this knows, for billionaires 2010 is a great year to die! No estate tax. Capital gains tax will have to be paid, but that is a small price to pay. As it stands now, next year an estate over $1,000,000 will be subject to estate tax. Even if legislation is passed and signed allowing for $3,500,000 to be left estate tax free, it is a far (far) cry from the 6.5 billion Mr. Kluge is reputed to have left.

Yes there could be probate of his estate. Probate and estate taxes have little to do with each other. Probate depends on whether or not Mr. Kluge estate planning incorporated probate avoidance vehicles. More than likely it did, but even if did not, Mr.Kluge’s heirs are going to be billions of dollars ahead unless he was leaving the majority of his estate to charity.

While many are against the estate tax, it seems particularly weird the results we are seeing this year!

In a never ending quest to keep this blog current, I do a fair amount of reading about probate related issues. I generally try to write about topics that are of interest to people who are reading my blog to understand a little bit more about probate. Sometimes I come across interesting probate related matters that really do not have much to do with the probate process in California. This is one of those instances.

Recently in Arizona, an Arizona attorney might be face disciplinary action under the following fact. The attorney met her client in a ballroom dancing class and began representing him in a divorce proceeding. In the following year, her client’s wife committed suicide and she handled the probate.

Very shortly after the suicide, the attorney began telling the widower that his deceased wife had “come” to her and that her spirit was inside the attorney. Moreover, she could communicate the deceased wife’s thoughts! The widower has testified before a disciplinary proceeding that the attorney pressure him into having a sexual relationship, which she told the investigator for the Arizona Supreme Court that the references to sex were coming from the deceased wife.

I guess the lesson learned is that even some probate lawyers have their moments and the attorney client relationship sometimes veers into uncharted waters!