When Celebrities Get It Right: An Important Estate Planning Lesson from Burt Reynolds

Unfortunately, far too many celebrity estate planning mistakes were completely avoidable but became a matter of public record due to the way in which the celebrity planned or failed to plan for their future.

Amy Winehouse, Prince, and Aretha Franklin are just a few examples of unfortunate estate planning failures. However, when Burt Reynolds passed away, he passed along a legacy about the importance of estate planning.

He created a comprehensive estate plan that provided for the privacy of himself as well as his family. He established a trust during the course of his lifetime for his beneficiaries. The will mentions his trust directly.

Reynolds also used a pour-over will. Pour-over wills often contain only one entity as a beneficiary: a trust. Wills are matters of public record and wills have to be filed with the court when the creator passes away.

However, the will should just be the beginning of a person’s estate plan, as is likely the case with Burt Reynolds. The will governs the distribution of your personal probate and real estate property, as this is likely the majority of your estate.

When you establish your trust and appropriately transfer the property into that trust prior to passing away, the trust agreement governs the property inside the trust. A will made by the creator only governs the property left outside the trust.

Appropriate trust and estate planning often requires sitting down with an experienced and dedicated lawyer who will do everything possible to provide you with clarity in the estate planning process.  

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified attorney.

About Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP

Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP is the CEO and Founding Partner of O'Connell Law, an estate planning and elder law firm serving clients across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. She is one of a select group of attorneys in Massachusetts certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA). Tiffany focuses her practice on estate planning, trust and probate administration, Medicaid planning, long-term care planning, Alzheimer's planning, charitable planning, and retirement and wealth strategies. She has been helping families plan for their futures since opening her practice in 2010.

Credentials: JD, LLM, CELA (Certified Elder Law Attorney — National Elder Law Foundation), AEP (Accredited Estate Planner)

Licensed in: Massachusetts

Areas of Practice: Estate Planning, Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, Probate & Trust Administration, Alzheimer's Planning, Asset Protection

View all posts by Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP →

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified attorney.