Estate-planning lessons from the King of Pop
By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance
What if I told you a man, already millions in debt, decided it was a good idea to wire $150,000 to a voodoo chief in Mali to allegedly ensure 25 of his enemies – a list that included Steven Spielberg – would soon die?
You’d tell me, That guy’s crazy and, under no circumstances, do I want his advice on my own finances, right?
Well, not so fast. Surely, Michael Jackson had his problems with money, but Kiplinger.com sees a financial lesson to be learned from his tragic death late last month.
As it turns out, Jackson had a great estate plan, one set up so iron-clad it’s hopeful to keep his post-death affairs out of the courts and from the public eye.
But you don’t have to have assets in excess of $500 million, Kiplinger warns, to cleverly plan for the future of your estate. The site lists a few lessons we can learn from Jackson, which includes a few no-brainer precautions the King of Pop undertook that most people simply neglect to carry-out.
Like, for example, writing a will. No kidding, right? But Kiplinger says many put off this basic financial chore until it’s too late, allowing a judge to divvy up your assets according to local law. Jackson was wise enough to split his estate the way he wanted it, reportedly between his kids, mother and selected charities.
Another forehead-slapping entry on the list is just as simple: name a guardian. In Jackson’s case, he preferred care of his children be passed onto his mother, Katherine, rather than Jackson’s second wife, the mother of two of his three kids. If he left this step out of arranging his estate, custody of Jackson’s kids would’ve likely gone to the ex-wife, who reportedly renounced her rights to the children years ago.
In any case, be sure to check out the Kiplinger list for more lessons to be learned from Jackson’s estate planning which, unlike the man himself, appears to be rock-solid.
Posted by: WHITE AND HAPPY | Jul 16, 2021 8:50:49 PM
you are a ignorant pig. i bet you are not from canada, racist swine
Posted by: WHITE AND HAPPY | Jul 16, 2021 8:52:55 PM
i cannot believe a web site exists like that. that is horrible
Posted by: Horrible article | Jul 17, 2021 3:08:53 PM
Horrible article... leave the man alone
Posted by: sunny | Jul 17, 2021 6:04:30 PM
M J was a smart business man. too bad he had a drug problem. he lead a strange life. hope he is happy in heaven
Posted by: sunny | Jul 17, 2021 6:09:05 PM
what is going to come out next......can we believe half this stuff
Posted by: kermit | Jul 18, 2021 9:17:39 AM
hey white and happy back off canada we sold just as many if not more of his albums and it wasnt our people who made his life hell if u recall it was u guys ur country ur people ur accusations so plz leave canada out of it he had many many fans here ty very much
Posted by: white and happy | Jul 18, 2021 11:27:26 AM
that ccommet was for the first posting, they took of. it had a web site saying all you need to know about m.j, it was a terrible site, about chimps if you can imagine a NEGETIVE Black site. i was shocked, they soon took it off. i am canadian and was sticking up for our great country. m.j. loved canada and montreal.we have a whole different way at looking at life. i understand your mis understanding. as for the voodoo guy. what ever, it all seems to be coming out of the woodwork. that stuff does not matter anymore. his children matter. he was legend in music for sure,
Posted by: Doreen Furman | Jul 18, 2021 5:03:45 PM
canada loves you michael ....... LEAVE HIM ALONE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: sunday girl | Jul 18, 2021 7:23:31 PM
we canadian's love micheal. go to church and gray
Posted by: lidia | Jul 18, 2021 8:08:11 PM
i really think that janet jackson should get the kid's she deserve's them
Posted by: sunday | Jul 20, 2021 4:39:58 PM
janet is the best suited for the kids. it will be a huge adjustment for her, but with the nannies help. she will do fine. those children are so beautiful. paris lights up the room.
Posted by: Lizzie | Jul 23, 2021 12:16:49 PM
People, focus on the issues here, which is the need to plan ahead! Sounds like MJ did some things right and some other things horribly wrong. People need to be smart about how to die and about their estate planning!
Die$smart is a great consumer reference guide to death and dying, and offers good tips on pre-death planning and post-death paperwork; even funeral self-help.
Since I'm personally in this situation now (MIL) I'm heavily cognizant of the need to know what you want and how you want things to go. It can be a mess. Thankfully, we're only in a part of a mess.