Stephen “tWitch” Boss Dies Without a Will

April 12, 2023
Stephen Laurel Boss, also known as “tWitch,” was an American DJ, hip-hop dancer, choreographer, television producer, and actor whose personality lit up the stage on So You Think You Can Dance and as a producer and frequent guest host on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Boss also co-hosted the TV show Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings alongside…
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Anne Heche Dies With Conflict Around Her Will, Leaving Her Sons & Estate In Legal Limbo—Part 2

September 30, 2022
Actress Anne Heche died this August following a tragic car accident, leaving behind two young sons: Homer Heche Laffoon, age 20, and Atlas Heche Tupper, age 13.  Last week, in part one, we covered the way uncertainty around Heche’s estate plan is creating conflict among her loved ones and resulting in her estate going through…
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Anne Heche Dies With Conflict Around Her Will, Leaving Her Sons & Estate In Legal Limbo—Part 1

September 23, 2022
Actress Anne Heche died this August following a tragic car accident in which she plowed her vehicle into a West Los Angeles home, where it burst into flames. After being pulled from the wreckage, the Emmy Award-winning actress was hospitalized in critical condition, suffering from severe burns and smoke inhalation. The fiery accident left Heche…
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A Not-So-Happy Accident: Bob Ross’s Estate Planning Failures —Part 2

September 24, 2021
As the host of the wildly popular The Joy of Painting TV series on PBS, Bob Ross became a pop-culture icon, who was equally famous for his giant head of hair, soothing baritone voice, and folksy demeanor as he was for his iconic landscape paintings. And like so many other artists, Bob’s artwork and image…
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A Not-So-Happy Accident: Bob Ross’s Estate Planning Failures —Part 1

September 17, 2021
As the host of the wildly popular The Joy of Painting TV series on PBS, Bob Ross became a pop-culture icon, who was equally famous for his giant head of hair, soothing baritone voice, and folksy demeanor as he was for his iconic landscape paintings. And like so many other artists, Bob’s artwork and image…
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Legendary Rapper DMX Dies With No Will, Millions in Debt, and 15 Children—Part 2

August 20, 2021
Legendary hip hop artist DMX—born Earl Simmons—passed away on April 9 at age 50 after suffering a massive heart attack a week earlier at his home in White Plains, New York. The heart attack was reportedly triggered by a cocaine overdose on April 2, which left the rapper hospitalized in a coma. After a week…
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Legendary Rapper DMX Dies With No Will, Millions in Debt, and 15 Children—Part 1

August 13, 2021
Legendary hip hop artist DMX—born Earl Simmons—passed away on April 9 at age 50 after suffering a massive heart attack a week earlier at his home in White Plains, New York. The heart attack was reportedly triggered by a cocaine overdose on April 2, which left the rapper hospitalized in a coma. After a week…
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Britney Spears’ Conservatorship: The Vital Importance Of Incapacity Planning—Part 2

July 16, 2021
Since the age of 16, when she burst onto the charts with her debut single, “…Hit Me Baby One More Time,” Britney Spears has been one of the world’s most famous and beloved pop stars. Yet despite her massive fame and fortune, Britney, who is now 39, has never truly had full control over her…
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Britney Spears’ Conservatorship: The Vital Importance Of Incapacity Planning—Part 1

July 9, 2021
Since the age of 16, when she burst onto the charts with her debut single, “…Hit Me Baby One More Time,” Britney Spears has been one of the world’s most famous and beloved pop stars. Yet despite her massive fame and fortune, Britney, who is now 39, has never truly had full control over her…
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Aretha Franklin’s Estate Planning Haunts Her Family —Part 2

May 14, 2021
Nearly three years have passed since Aretha Franklin, known as the “Queen of Soul,” died from pancreatic cancer at age 76. When she first passed away in August 2018, her family thought that Aretha died without any estate plan at all. But since then, four different wills attributed to the late singer have been discovered.…
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Celebrity Estate Planning

Will the Inheritance You Leave Be a Blessing or an Albatross?

Rock musician Sting recently announced that his children will not inherit his estimated $300 million fortune, saying that these riches are “albatrosses around their necks.” The product of a British working class background, Sting is currently one of England’s wealthiest…

Law and Disorder: The Jerry Orbach Estate Battle

Jerry Orbach, who starred as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the popular “Law and Order” television series, died a decade ago, but a battle is brewing over his Chase bank account, according to a recent story in the New York Post.…

Another Actor’s Estate Plan Screwed Up By His Lawyer

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s will has been filed for probate and provides a cautionary tale when it comes to estate planning mistakes. Here are four things he could have done to correct them: Create a Revocable Living Trust.  Hoffman…

5 Fast & Furious Estate Planning Lessons from Paul Walker’s Estate

Paul Walker, who starred in the Fast & Furious movie franchise, died tragically in a high speed car accident in Los Angeles last November at the age of 40.  His estate was opened at the end of January in the…

Learn From the Expensive Mistakes & Smart Decisions Made By Actor James Gandolfini In Planning for His Estate

James Gandolfini, the actor best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, died suddenly last month while on vacation in Italy.  His will is already on the Internet, available for everyone to read – which is…

6 Cases When a Trust is Better Than a Will

A will is one of the most basic estate planning documents, and everyone should have one to make sure that there is no question about what would happen to your assets and kids if something happens to you.  But there…

What You Can Learn From Three-Time NYC Mayor Ed Koch’s Will About Your Estate Planning

Three-time New York City Mayor Ed Koch died on Feb. 1, leaving an estate estimated between $10-$11 million.  And it’s a good thing that “Hizzoner” loved governing, because one-quarter of his estate will be going to the state and federal…

What We Can Learn From Downton Abbey About Estate Planning

Downton Abbey – the PBS drama about the fortunes and misfortunes of an aristocratic British family in the early 20th century that has taken American audiences by storm – gets most of its gripping plot twists as the result of…

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